New Beginnings
by Zenerific1
Summary: Naruto had moved into a new foster home. What will happen? Will she find a place to call home, or will everything fall apart around her. FEM NARU. Read and Review. SasuNaru Rated M for later chapters AU COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

"And this will be your room," Jiraya spoke opening the door to one of the rooms on the second floor. The room was large and done in bright, sunny yellow. A four poster stood against one wall with yellow and white ruffled curtains handing from each of the four towering posts of the walnut bed. A white vanity painted with yellow flowers everywhere occupied another and in an alcove of a bay window was a tiny table and chair in a similar pattern.

Naruto wrinkled her nose and looked at the white haired man who had just become her newest foster parent. He stood about a foot taller than her and had a nice physic but he was still an old man.

"Can't I redo the décor?" she asked still wincing from the happy colors.

"Um, I guess so but…you don't like it?" he asked perplexed, looking back at the very feminine room.

"It's nice but I don't think I can live with…um, yellow," she finished looking back at the room and stepping gingerly onto the yellow carpet. She was wearing her favorite pair of combat boots and they were looking soo out of place in the frilly room. She just wasn't the frilly type of person. The only thing that was frilly about her was her hair and she wore it pulled back into two long blond braids.

She set down the back leather suit case and looked back at the white haired man. She smiled slightly at him and asked, "Do you really think that this is me?"

Jiraya looked at his newest charge seeing the black t-shirt, the orange cargo pants, and the black boots. He shook his head and nodded. "Nope, your right, the room really doesn't fit you. So go ahead and redecorate." He set another case he was carrying down only to hear a yowl of protest from its occupant. "I must warn you now; we have a dog in occupancy so you might want to keep the cat confined to your room. Um, let's go over some of the rules."

Naruto nodded the smile fading, not that it was a real smile. She hadn't been able to smile a real smile in a long time.

"Okay, rule number one. You must pick up after yourself, that includes dishes, rooms, and so forth. Rule number two: you must be back here at nine, that's the curfew and I will send a police officer after you if you aren't. Rule number three: since you are an older member of the household you can get your own meal, so long as you clean up after yourself, however, you are welcome to eat with the younger crew, we eat at six and then you're expected to help with the clean up. Rule number four: um…well, you are the only girl in residence so…well, no, fraternizing with the boys, talking, watching TV are okay but you will not step foot in their rooms and they are not to come into yours." Jiraya's laid back expression became stern as he eyed the seventeen-year-old girl. She nodded solemnly back. He had seen the fake smile earlier and now he wondered if she ever smiled. It had been two years since her parents had died, but he guessed that he could deal with a serious kid for once.

"Okay, now, I've heard that you get an allowance from the trust that your parent set up so you can use that in any way you feel like. There is a chore list posted in the kitchen and if you perform any of the tasks that are listed you will receive and extra sum of money, the prices are listed with it.

"I expect you to show everyone some respect they are all in the same situation as yourself, though some of them have been in it longer. I also expect you to conduct yourself in a manner befitting a woman of good morals."

_Coming from a guy who writes pornographic novels?_ Naruto thought to herself but just nodded in his direction again. Rules were the same in nearly all of the homes she had been in.

"I'm going to let you get settled, and in an hour I would like you to come down stairs and meet the rest of the gang." Jiraya stepped out of the door and went back down stairs where he had left the Child Services personnel.

Hatake Kakashi smiled at the older man when he came back into the room. "Jiraya, I know that you have your hands full but basically your our last resort when it comes to placing problematic kids. The last home we had her in…well…the woman just couldn't deal with Naruto." He held out a folder so that Jiraya could take a look at it.

There was a picture of the girl when she was younger, her eyes were angry, red and swollen, a frown pulling her lips down but her jaw a clenched shut. Under the picture was her vital stats and other public knowledge information and under that was a police report.

"Breaking and entering? Vandalism, assault, and resisting arrest?" Jiraya looked up and Kakashi. "That little girl did all that, what's the story?"

"Well, it seems that the foster parent took Naruto's trust allowance because she felt that in doing so she would teach Naruto some sort of lesson. I wasn't there so I didn't get the whole story. Naruto broke into her room and trashed the place looking for her money. The woman called the police and threatened to kick Naruto out and called Naruto's mom and few names, Naruto took exception to the name calling and punched the woman. Knocked her out by the way, and when the police arrived, well, um, she took out two of them before they got their heads together and it took four of them to restrain her and get her into a car and down to the station." Kakashi shrugged in an apologetic fashion, but he also sounded a little proud of the girl. "Um, it seems that she has had some martial arts training."

"Some? She took out two police officers, I would say that she has probably been studying since she was at least five." Jiraya said, "So as long as I don't take anything from her we should do alright together."

"Well, before that she was in a home and one of the boys took a liking to her and snuck into her room in the middle of the night. He's still in the hospital." A wry smile formed on Kakashi's face.

"Okay, so I just need to tell everyone to leave her alone."

Jiraya looked up at the silver haired man in sitting in the chair. He wore a medical mask in front of his mouth and nose but his brown eyes were shining with mirth. They had know each other for a long time now since Jiraya and his wife, Tsunade, had begun taking in children who needed at the very least a place to call home. Tsunade had a job of running the town so she was away right now but would be back the day after tomorrow.

"Kakashi, is it alright for Naruto to be here. I mean, I've known her father since he was ten and well, isn't there a law that prohibits her from being here?" Jiraya said. He hadn't been around when Naruto's father had died in a freak accident and he still felt slightly guilty about it.

"Minato was a good man and I'm sure that he would feel that you're the best person to raise Naruto. And no, there isn't any law that prohibits a well respected foster parent who may have a connection to the foster kid's family from caring for the child. I looked into it before bringing Naruto here. The only reason the office didn't do it earlier was because we were reluctant to place her in a home with only boys. I'm hoping that she might have an influence with the boys, you know that whole mother roll that girls tend to take on."

"God DAMN it, give it back!" a yell back from the rear of the house. It was followed by a crash and a loud bang.

Jiraya got up to see what happened with the door flew open and two tumbling figures rolled into the room, wrestling each other. He stood up and grabbed one boy by the collar of his shirt and the other by his belt and separated them letting them hand in mid air for a moment.

"What is going on?' he asked the two eight-year-old boys even while they struggled to get their hands back on each other. He held them easily giving testament to the strength that was still in his body.

"Tatsuo took my shiny stone and won't give it back," the brunette hanging by his belt yelled.

"Yeah, well, it's a stupid rock and belongs outside," the boy named Tatsuo said in defense.

"Does not!"

"Does!"

"Hold it!" Jiraya said with a slightly raised voice to be heard over the arguing pair. "Tatsuo, where is the rock?"

The kid looked down at his feet. "I lost it," he mumbled shuffling his feet as Jiraya set the two on their feet.

"LOST IT!" screeched the brunette then his voice dropped into a whisper, "but my mom bought it for me." He began to cry in earnest and Tatsuo looked at him with guilt and misery written in every line of his body.

"I'm sorry," Tatsuo said.

The brunette looked at him then ran from the room tears streaming down his face. Jiraya sighed deeply.

"Tatsuo, where were you when you first noticed that the rock was gone?" Jiraya asked.

"Um, I was in the garden."

"Where were you before the garden?"

"Um, in Rees' room."

"Empty your pockets."

The boy pulled his pockets out and a hole was in one of them. He looked at it in puzzlement before looking at Jiraya.

"Why don't you go and look at every inch of your back trail from Rees' room to the garden. When you find the rock, you will give it back, apologize again, and you will be doing all of Rees chores tonight."

The boy ran out with a look of hope on his face, and then he slid to a stop at the door. "Thanks, Jiraya, I will." He disappeared.

Jiraya rolled his eyes at the departing Tatsuo then looked back at Kakashi. "He has a hard time because he doesn't have anything to remember his parents; all their things were burnt when the house went up. He just wants to find a connection to them." Jiraya explained.

Kakashi nodded suppressing the smile that had been threatening since the young Tatsuo had ran out of the room. "All I see is that you would make an excellent parent to anyone."

"Yeah, well, those two are easy now put Gaara and Sasuke into the same situation and they would probably demolish the whole house."

"Yeah, probably. So I will leave you with Naruto and check back up with you in a month, if nothing happens before then." Kakashi stood, stuffed the file that Jiraya had discarded when the ruckus had broken out back into his briefcase, and went to the door.

The two shook hands and Kakashi left. Jiraya stood watching him go before he turned his attention back to the matter and hand. He was going to have to introduce Naruto to the rest of the house.

***

Naruto stuffed the suitcases into the closet not bothering to unpack. She had taken a photo of her parents out and placed it on the white and yellow nightstand that sat next to the bed. She tested the bed and found that it was soft but not too soft, then looked around the room again.

_Tomorrow, I am definitely going to start redecorating tomorrow_. She felt excited because this was the first time that she'd had permission to do so. All the others had told her an adamant no, but she hadn't listened to them, and had changed the room that they had given her. They had seen and tried to ground her, tried to get her to put it back the way it was (which she had refused), and one had even taken a belt to her for it. She hadn't said anything through the beating but in the end the woman had regretted it because the state had filed child abuse charges against her. Naruto still had some scars left across the back of her thighs from the beating.

She moved around the room pausing at the large floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto a large garden in the back yard. Curtains formed diamond openings on the doors but the glad enclosed blinds that could be opened and closed for privacy. She had never been in a room that was so girly or fancy. Most of the people hadn't bothered much with the rooms; a single bed and a night stand, once even a book shelf but everything had been Spartan.

She looked at the clock and noticed that the time had nearly past and she should be heading down stairs to meet her new foster family.

_Whooopie, big deal._ She felt little enthusiasm for the newest chapter in her life. From what she had over heard everyone else was a boy, she was the only girl. _Great, well, if they though she was easy then they had another thing coming._

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**A/N Okay another story, guess what, which ever chapter gets the most reviews is the chapter I'll update first!!! SO REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! There is this story and the Precious Treasures story.**

**HAHAHHAHA**

**Love you all **

**ZEN**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Three reviews?! People I am disappointed in you, surely you have an opinion. Just kidding!! but anyways since this got the most reviews then its the first to be updated.**

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Naruto entered the living room with the shoulder set of a condemned man facing the gallows and that was just how she felt, like she was about to be executed. She didn't like meeting new people, most of the time they had cold hateful eyes that stared. And she felt awkward trying to think of something to say.

"Ah, Naruto," Jiraya spoke and waved her over to stand next to him.

Naruto raised her chin, clenched her jaw with resignation, and walked over to stand next to the tall, white haired, old geezer. She felt a smidge of relief that she hadn't tripped over her own feet or some imaginary carpet roll. She kept her gaze of the floor studying the blue carpet in feigned interest.

"Boys, this is Naruto, she will be staying with us for a little while so I hope that you make her feel welcome."

Naruto finally looked up feeling that she had hidden any emotion other that disinterest to see the five boys sitting in various positions in front of her. The two youngest were sitting with arms folded on the couch. Jiraya introduced them as Tatsuo and Rees, both were dark haired and similar enough to be twins. The other three were about her age. There was a shaggy headed boy who sat Indian style of the floor leaning back on a huge white dog. Naruto learned that his name was Kiba and the dog was Akamaru. Another boy sat with arms folded, almost glaring at her, from an arm chair, his name was Gaara. And the last was leaning against a wall studying her with dark, obsidian eyes.

"And this is Uchiha Sasuke, he has been here a little over a year," Jiraya finished the introductions. "Why don't you tell us about yourself?" …or not.

"Nothing to say," Naruto said evenly.

"How about what your favorite color is?" Jiraya was really trying to get Naruto to open up.

"Doesn't matter. May I go back to my room now?" Naruto asked her gaze dropping back to the floor.

"Um…I guess so," Jiraya said and watched as the girl's shoulders slumped in relief and she beat a hasty retreat.

"Such an interesting person there, Jiraya," Kiba spoke up with an amused laugh.

"Yeah, I bet she's a barrel full of laughs," Sasuke muttered.

"Just like you, Sasuke."

"Go hump a chair, dog boy."

"Hey, now. You need to curb the language. Tsunade will have your heads if she hears you talking like that and we have another young lady in the house so…shut it!" Jiraya interrupted the two before they really began to dish it.

"Jiraya?" Rees asked. "Do you think that she would like some cookies?" The youngest of the group seemed to be the most sensitive.

"She just might, why don't you and Tatsuo go find a recipe and I'll come help in a few minutes." The two boys ran from the room excited about making cookies, because they would also be able to eat them. "Gaara, you haven't said anything, what is your opinion of the newest member?"

"She doesn't trust easily," Gaara said quietly.

"True enough, if her file is anything to go on."

"You've seen her file?" Kiba spoke up. He was the most outgoing of the group. "What did it say?"

"None of your business, but I will warn you, that I wouldn't go getting on her bad side, she can be just as cranky as Tsunade." Jiraya was down playing Tsunade's temper. She could take down the entire house if she was riled enough and he avoided doing that when possible.

"Ha," Kiba snorted. "I doubt that anyone could match Tsunade."

"Okay, but its your own funeral."

Gaara stood up abruptly. "I'm going to go help Rees and Tatsuo with the cookies."

"Hey, me too," Kiba yelled following out of the room along with the Akamaru.

"Whatever," was Sasuke's reply before he slipped out of the French doors he had been standing next to.

Jiraya sighed. He had hoped that the first introduction would go better but he should know by now. The kids that were sent here usually were holding in a lot of pain and didn't like others to see it.

He looked toward the kitchen. If Gaara and Kiba were helping with the cookies then he should be able to go do some writing…

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Sasuke was lying down across one of the stone benches that had been placed next to the Koi pond nearly hidden by the trees and bushes that were Tsunade's pride and joy. He had one arm pillowing his head while the other occupied a space on his belly. He studied the stars that shone in the sky that was occasionally obscured by a wispy cloud that rolled by.

A shadow moving across one of the lighted windows caught his absent gaze. He frowned as he remembered that the window was the one from the yellow room. The shadow must be the new girl. He cocked his head and watched it for another shadow.

When he had first looked at the girl he had seen a scrawny kid in baggy orange and black clothing. A couple of inches shorter that him, with two long braids and cloudy blue eyes. Her face was narrow, high cheek bones that were caressed by three lines on each one. Her lips were turned down into a thin frown and her brow was furrowed but not in anger. He had also seen the haunted pain that he usually saw in his own.

Gaara had lost his parents when he was very young and didn't really remember them. Kiba remembered them but it was a distant memory. Tatsuo and Rees were still young enough that they would eventually forget, but it was only two years ago that he had lost his parents. He could vividly remember his mother's dark locks so much like his own; he had loved to touch her hair and feel it against his face. He even remembered the stern countenance of his father when he looked down on him, but it had been softened with love. He'd had an older brother and remembered being given a piggy back ride home when he had sprained his ankle. These were memories that had stayed with him and would always be with him.

He wondered as he looked up at the window if Naruto had memories like that.

The curtains shifted with the light breeze and Sasuke realized that the window was open. A cat appeared and too the opportunity to jump from the sill to the tree that ran close to the window. It swiftly descended and began to explore. It was a deeper black than the shadows of the dark garden. He held out his hand and the curious creature immediately came over to sniff at it. A second later the feline butted its head against his palm in approval. It jumped up onto his belly wanting some attention.

He absently began to pet the purring beast, feeling a little more contentment settling in.

He had been at the house for a little more than a year. He had grown accustomed to the place and the freedom that Jiraya had allowed them. As long as they were back by nine, they didn't get into trouble, and they respected the other rules, then they were given a lot of freedom. And the added mothering of Tsunade wasn't too bad either. She loved the kids that came through the house, she treated them like the kids she couldn't have and every one of them came back because this was their home and their family.

He saw the window twitch back and Naruto appeared. He stiffened slightly then relaxed as he remembered that she wouldn't be able to see him in the garden, not with the trees and bushes throwing shadows on him. He couldn't really see her with the light at her back but he could tell that the baggy clothing was hiding some pretty intriguing curves. His lips rose slightly at this observation. She had taken her hair down also and it produced ad blond halo around her head before falling in curls down to the small of her back.

The cat decided that it'd had enough attention and jumped down to trot back to the tree climbing the trunk with sharp little claws then along the branch to leap the last few feet to reach its mistress. She caught it easily and hugged it closely to her chest. She ruffled the fur on its head and Sasuke could hear a gently murmur as she talked to the cat affectionately though he couldn't tell what she had said.

…but the tone was enough to get his body to react and he felt himself harden.

He shifted on the bench to get more comfortable and relive some of the sudden pressure on his zipper. He closed his eyes and willed his body under control, but it had a mind of its own and didn't pay any attention to him.

_Kuso_, he hissed in his mind then sat up. He looked back at the window but Naruto had left. He could faintly smell the sweet scent of chocolate and sugar and decided that he would go in and help eat the cookies at least. He pushed himself off the bench and dusted the back of his pant so remove any dirt or debris that might be clinging to him, and then sauntered toward the house.

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Naruto pulled out her laptop. She had saved her money and had bought it nearly a year ago and always kept it hidden under all of her clothes in the bottom of the smallest suitcase. She plugged it in and booted it up waiting for the log in screen to appear. She had spent an hour pacing the room going form window to window in restlessness, even opening one so that her cat, Tobi, could go out and roam.

She had pulled the ties out of her hair and brushed it until it crackled. She had even sat briefly to sketch our some designs she was going to try into one of the sketch books she carried. She shook her head over the fact that she was once again shuffled into a new house with new people who didn't give one tiny, dried up fig about her.

The login screen appeared on the laptop and she signed on, pulled up her writing program, and began to type. She had a fetish for writing fan fictions and her favorite at the moment was a fiction about a boy who held a demon in side of him. She had been writing this latest fic for about a month and so far she had a good following with lots of reviews. She'd even heard some of the people talking about it at school.

That brought another thought that caused her to pause in her writing. She wondered if Jiraya was going to pull her from her current one and place her in another. Most of them had but she had ended up back at her old school with the last foster home. She had been extremely glad about that and she had tried to stay out of trouble just so she could remain with her old friends, Shikamaru and Chouji.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she sighed, closed the computer and threw a towel, which she had on hand, over it. She walked to the door and cracked it open. Bright, innocent brown eyes met hers along with a white plate filled with cookies. She opened the door wider and looked in puzzlement at the plate.

"We wanted to make you feel welcome," chirped the brown eyed boy. She looked up at the rest of the group. Then back down at the boy.

"Rees, right?" she asked and was given a nod. "Um, thank you." She took the plate and looked at the rest again. "Thank you."

"I'm Tatsuo, I helped put the flour and eggs in," the other excited young boy chimed.

"Cookies are the best way to break the ice in this place," the shaggy headed boy explained. Naruto had barely glanced at he when she was in the living room but now that she was faced with him she took in the fact that he had red, upside down triangles tattooed to his face. The dog was standing next to him and came up to his hips which was faintly alarming given the fact that the boy stood close to 6'6" tall. Next to him and slightly shorter was the red headed guy. She saw that he also had a tattoo on his forehead but it was somewhat obscured by his bangs.

She tried to smile at them but failed miserably and just stood looking at them unable to think of anything to say.

"If you would like we can go back down to the kitchen and you can have some milk with those," the red headed boy stated with a little jerk of his head in the direction that they had come.

"Um, okay," Naruto agreed a bit reluctantly but felt that she should at least show them some politeness because they had gone out of their way to make the cookies.

She followed them through the house and to the kitchen. She looked around curiously because she hadn't been given a tour of the house so she hadn't been in the room before. It was a cozy setup with a long island separating it from a dinning area a couple of bar stools were pushed under it for anyone who wanted to sit at it. There were also a couple of overstuffed couches cornered around a fireplace with a small coffee table before them. The counters of the kitchen were a warm honey color and the appliances were a brushed stainless steel. The whole place had an inviting air about it, making people feel comfortable and at home.

The dark haired boy was standing at the counter munching on a cookie holding a glass of milk with the other.

"Sasuke!" Tatsuo said jumping up to sit on one of the stools followed by Rees.

"These are good," he complimented the two little boys and grabbing another.

"Thanks," Rees said with a little blush, it was obvious that either Sasuke didn't give out many compliments or the boy did get many to begin with.

"Ah, I see you got her to come down," he said with a light motion of his cookie in Naruto's direction.

Naruto's chin lifted slightly. "I do have a name, you know." She eyed the guy whose hair stuck up at the back and reminded her of a raven.

"Ah," Kiba said interrupting, "do you want some milk, Naruto?" He didn't want an argument to break out between Sasuke and Naruto.

"Yeah, thank you," Naruto mumbled dropping her gaze to the plate of cookies that she set on the counter.

Gaara had taken a seat on one of the couches and lifted a small black remote. Music began to sift through the tension pulling Naruto's attention away from the raven.

"Um, how long have you guys been here?" she asked curiously wanting to relieve some of the stress that meeting new people always brought her.

"I've been here since I was five," Gaara announced, "so about twelve, nearly thirteen years. I have a couple of older siblings, we were placed here together. We got lucky because most siblings in the foster care system get split up. Their attending college now and come down during some of the long weekends to visit and on the holidays."

Kiba stared wide eyed at the speech Gaara had just given; it was the first time he had ever heard that many syllables leave the red head. Then he shook himself and spoke up. "I've been here for about ten years and Akamaru has been here for nearly five. I have an older sister somewhere but I don't know where. I am going to be a veterinarian when I get out of college."

"I've been here two years," Rees mumbled around a mouthful of cookie then looked at Tatsuo who had to swallow some of his before he could speak.

"Me to, but I came before Rees."

She was met with silence and glanced up to see Sasuke studying her. "And you?" she prompted feeling uneasy about the way he was looking at her.

"A year." He set his glass in the sink and grabbed another cookie then left the kitchen abruptly.

"Wow, is he always so abrupt?" Naruto asked the two older boys. They nodded.

"He's been having a hard time adjusting to being an orphan, his parent died a little over three years ago," Kiba said softly, he didn't want Sasuke to over hear them just in case he took exception to the conversation.

"Oh," Naruto said and picked up the cookie. "Wow, these really are good."

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**I was told the is was king of boring I appologize for that and any other gramatical mistakes , spelling errors, and what not. I'm still working on the story and hopefully the next chapter will be more exciting. Also people are showing an interest in a SasuNaru pairing but if you want it different then please let me know. It's time to vote for the next AMERICAN IDOL... um, sorry, PAIRING. **

**SEE YA **

**ZEN  
**


	3. Chapter 3

The lunch bell rang and Naruto gathered up her books and tucked them neatly inside her book bag.

"Naruto!"

Looking up Naruto spotted Shikamaru Nara, one of her oldest friends waving to her from the doorway. She waved back, standing. She walked to the door and had an arm slung about her shoulder.

"Are you joining Chouji and I for lunch?" he asked pulling her into a quick hug.

"Yeah, but I have to run a couple of books to the library first," she replied. Ducking out from underneath the arm, she turned in that direction.

"Alright, we'll be at the usual spot," Shikamaru said before he tucked his hands into his front pockets and sauntered lazily toward the cafeteria.

Naruto was grateful that they had nearly forty-five minutes for lunch. It gave her enough time to unwind from the overload of information that she was bombarded with daily. Teachers tried to cram as much information into their lessons which the average person only processed and remembered about seven percent of it. _What a freakin' waste._

She rounded a corner and came face to face with a black clad chest. Two hands grabbed her before she had a chance to excuse herself and move out of the way.

"Well, well, well, Naruto," a very familiar and self righteous voice drawled.

_FUCKING HELL, SHIT, and GOD DAMNIT!_ Naruto thought as she looked up into a hated face with round glasses and grey hair.

"You know," Kabuto said looking at the rest of the guys that were following him, "I was just thinking that it would be a miracle if Naruto fell into my lap right now." They snickered then moved around the two.

"Have some fun, Kabuto," one of them called out giving the two some privacy. The hallways had been deserted as the students had left to have lunch on the grounds.

_The police took my jack knife and I haven't been able to get my hands on another since, _Naruto was thinking frantically. She was searching through the contents of her bag for a pencil while trying to remain unnoticed by the older boy. He was a year older and should have been out of school, but he had failed the end of year exams and had to retake the classes.

"Let's find a better place," Kabuto murmured as he latched onto the struggling Naruto and pulled her down the hall.

"Let me go," Naruto hissed pulling and tugging at her wrist but feeling completely helpless. Kabuto knew most of her defensive moves and could counter them. He had been after her since she had been a freshman, and before her parents died. She had been very careful to avoid being in his vicinity, _so why the hell had he been near the library?_

He pulled her into the empty men's room, tossed her away, and turned to lock the door. With his attention diverted for the few second it took to lock the door, Naruto balanced onto the balls of her feet then took aim at his head, then swung in a high arch with her booted foot. Kabuto ducked and grabbed her foot holding it easily. He smiled evilly at her.

"I would have thought that you had learned that those tricks won't work on me." He dropped her foot.

"Fuck off, four eyes." Naruto was shaking but she was determined that she wouldn't show him her fear. She pulled her bag in front of her and dug back into it, she was sure that she had put her pencil in it along with her books but the thin stick of wood remained elusive to her searching fingers.

"Whacha looking for? I heard that the police took that little knife of yours when they arrested you for assaulting that woman." He began to advance on her. "You might as well give in and give me what I want."

Naruto remained silent with her attention divided between the bag and Kabuto. She shuffled papers aside feeling around the lining of the bag. She backed up with every step he took looking for an opening. The last time he had trapped her, she'd had the knife, and he'd backed off immediately not wanting to be injured.

Kabuto lunged and Naruto swung the bag catching him off guard, she sprinted for the door. He'd been surprised but hadn't fallen so when she darted passed him he reached out and caught her by a hand full of hair.

She screeched at the sudden pain at the back of her head but it was abruptly cut off when his other hand covered her mouth. She tried to bite his hand but he squeezed her mouth and jaw until she whimpered.

"You little bitch, you think you're too good for me! You've been shaking that ass in my direction for four years now and when I finally came calling, you treat me like the scum of the earth! You've been teasing me for too long and I will take what you've handed out to other boys," Kabuto hissed as he loosened the hand in her hair and pulled her back against him, his arm coming around her and grabbing her breast. "You've got some sweet tits, Naruto." His had squeezed and it hurt. She pushed against his hand to make some room then slammed her head back onto his, she heard a solid crunch and he let her go. She turned to see that she'd broken his nose. Blood was pouring from it and he quickly cupped a hand over it. "YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

She didn't wait for him to say more but ran to the door, unlocked it and slipped through.

Sasuke was standing a few feet down the hall when Naruto slipped out of the men's room. He widened his eyes in surprise and took in her tousled appearance. Her hair looked like someone had grabbed it in a fit of passion and her clothing was wrinkled and disheveled. Her lips were swollen and red, her face flushed from exertion.

"Having a good time between classes?" he asked snidely.

Naruto jumped spinning to face him her face going pale as the blood left it. "S—Sasuke, um…"

"I wouldn't be passing favors out just now. I don't think that Jiraya would look too kindly on one of his charges getting pregnant while under his care." He turned and meandered up the hall way.

Naruto watched his back disappear around the corner in disbelief, then a unholy, all consuming rage filled her. Her hands clenched at her side and her teeth clenched.

_What the fuck?! Who the hell did he think he was making presumptions about her?_ She closed her eyes but they flew open when she heard noises coming from the other side of the door that she had just come out of. She quickly straightened her clothes, and began stomping up the hallway toward the library, smoothing her hair as she went. She took several deep breaths trying to calm the anger.

Ten minutes later…

Naruto settled onto the grass next to Chouji who held out an apple to her. She took it and crunched into it.

"Took your time," Shikamaru muttered from his lounging position as he stared up at the clouds.

"Ran into Kabuto," she muttered still trembling from the near miss.

Shikamaru jerked upright and stared at her. "What the hell? What happened? Did he…?" Chouji's small, brown eyes widened in concern, his hand paused at the opening to his chip bag.

"He tried. I broke his nose."

"Good for you, Naruto," Chouji exclaimed around a mouthful of BBQ chips.

"Yeah, but that isn't really the worst part," Naruto muttered still pissed off about what Sasuke had said.

"How can anything be worst than a near rape," Shikamaru asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha was waiting outside the door, and thought that I was…I was…passing out favors," Naruto whispered unable to say it louder.

"What the _fuck_? Surely you explained that you weren't…"

"He didn't give me time and I was too stunned to explain." Her shoulders dropped as she let the apple drop forgotten into her lap.

"That does it! You're going to have to make a complaint about Kabuto's harassment," Shikamaru said standing his hand now settled on his hips.

"Don't you think I have tried?! His father is a high official and they think that I'm just trying to get him into trouble. The last time, they pulled him into the office and asked him about it. Do you know what he told them? THAT HE HAD BEEN FLIRTING and I had just taken it the wrong way." Naruto turned away from her friends.

"Oi Naruto!"

She looked up at the call and saw Gaara and Kiba walking towards them.

"Sit down and not a word about this," Naruto hissed.

"Who're they?" Shikamaru asked, studying them curiously.

"We've been looking everywhere," Kiba said as he strolled up then dropped to the grass and looked at the other two guys sitting with Naruto. Gaara, too, settled onto the grass next to Kiba.

"Hi, guys. I didn't know that you went to this school too." Naruto mumbled. "Um, Kiba, Gaara, this is Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi. They've been my friends since nursery school. Shikamaru, Chouji, this is Kiba Inuzuka and Gaara Sabaku."

"Yo," Shikamaru greeted as he settled back onto the grass in his usual nonchalance. Kiba and Gaara nodded along with Chouji because he couldn't speak with his mouth full.

"Hey, we ran into Sasuke earlier," Kiba mentioned looking at Naruto, a smile in place. "He said that he saw you down by the library."

"Oh, um, yeah, we kind of bumped into each other," Naruto studied her hands seeing the faint bruises that would be bright purple tomorrow, she was going to have to dig out the fingerless gloves that would cover her hands and forearms. She looked up and met Gaara's silver green eyes. He was frowning and glanced down at her wrists then back at her face his head cocked. He had seen the bruises too and was wondering about them. She shook her head shortly then looked at Kiba who remained oblivious to the silent conversation.

"He seemed pissed about something, did you see anything amiss with him," Kiba asked.

"Nothing that a lobotomy wouldn't fix," Naruto muttered scowling. _What the hell did he have to be pissed about?_

Kiba snickered, "True."

"Naruto, what is your next class?" Shikamaru asked casually, looking over at her, hidden concern written in his eyes.

"Um, I have chemistry next," she replied shifting to relieve some of the tension that was beginning to cause her shoulders and the back of her neck to ache.

"'kay I will meet you after the class," he said, "I'm closest, and then you have Calculus, right?" She nodded. "Chouji will be there and then we'll both meet you after the last class to walk you home." The plans were made in such a way so as not to reveal that they were going to be there for protection. Threatening Kabuto was one thing but to actually break his nose. Naruto was going to be watching behind her for a good long while.

"Kiba and I can walk Naruto home, since we live there," Gaara spoke up. He looked at Shikamaru with meaning knowing that something was up.

Shikamaru immediately picked up the undertones but looked at Naruto for a decision. She nodded, willing to accept the company because the walk would be twice as long for Shikamaru and Chouji because they lived in the opposite direction. She smiled at Gaara grateful that he wasn't asking pointed questions that she wasn't really willing to answer.

"That would be great," Naruto confirmed out loud. "But I need to go by the department store and pick up some new curtains and a couple of gallons of paint."

"Curtains, paint? Why?" Kiba asked with a frown. "Aren't the curtains in your room good enough?"

"Yeah, but frilly white and sunny yellow aren't my thing and Jiraya said I could redecorate," Naruto explained.

"Well, hell then, let Nara walk her home, Gaara, I don't want to go shopping," Kiba complained with a huff, folding his arms over his chest like a petulant child.

"We're going shopping, Kiba," Gaara growled.

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**I hope that you found this chapter more exciting than the last. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. It looks like its going to be a SasuNaru (Sorry Warlord, but i will make a NaruKiba for you later).**

**LOVES YA**

**ZEN**


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto dumped her purchases out onto the floor of her room. She'd spent two hours with Kiba and Gaara shopping for things to redecorate her room. Kiba had complained the whole time about needing to get home to walk his dog. Gaara had glared at him the whole time but thank god he was a quiet person, she had been ready to shove Kiba into the nearest bottomless pit by the time she was finished.

"Naruto," she heard from the other side of her door.

Opening it she looked into Rees sweet, innocent little face. He smiled and held out a cookie.

"It's the last one," he whispered.

"Thank you," she said and reached out to brush a few crumbs from his face. "Is Jiraya around?"

"He's in his study working on his book."

"Good." She waved him into the book. "You can help me with redecorating." She motioned for him to sit on the bed and she pulled her sketch book out of the suitcase. She sat next to him and opened the cover.

"Wow," he whispered reaching out to brush a hand over the face that was drawn their. "Who is she?" he asked reverently. The little black cat came up to nose at the book and Rees reached out a hand. She butted her head against it, making him laugh, before jumping down and padding over to the window. She jumped up and disappeared.

"That's my mom," Naruto said then turned the page, "and this is my dad." She slowly turned the pages on the few people drawings that she had. "I want to decorate the room to fit me but I'm having trouble deciding on what I should do." She flipped a few more pages to a quick sketch of the room. "I'm not sure about this one." The picture showed the room in a rich burnt orange with black accents. "Or this." She turned the page to show the room again but this time with red wall and black laquered furniture.

"I like this one," Rees said touching the page with the red walls. "It looks kinda foreign." He ran a hand over the small black table where she had sketched in a few cranes.

"You know, I think I like this one too." She lifted her arm and settled it around his thin shoulders and hugged him to her. "Alright, let's take down the curtains and put up the ones I bought and officially kick off this redecoration."

Rees slid off the bed and jumped up and down in sudden excitement. She pulled a chair over to the windows that she had measured out last night and allowed him to clamber up onto it. He lifted his arms but couldn't quite reach the top of the curtain.

"Hey, Rees, you need to be a couple of inches taller," they heard Jiraya's voice from the door.

"Oh!" Naruto said, "Um…We…I…" Se couldn't think of a way to explain why she had broken one of the rules. Jiraya smiled gently.

"It's okay, Naruto. I placed those rules on the older kids," he said then stepped into the room with a step ladder. "Why don't you try this, son."

They began taking down the curtains with Jiraya helping. In no time all the curtains were taken down and replaced with black and red ones in an alternating pattern.

"You know that you're going to have to take them down again when you start painting," Jiraya advised.

"Yeah but this way it motivates me to get it done."

"I heard that there was some trouble at school today." Naruto scowled and looked away.

"Snitches," she whispered under her breath.

"I over heard Gaara and Kiba." He looked at Rees as the boy flipped pages in her sketch book. "Rees, why don't you go and send Gaara and Kiba up here, I need to talk to them."

"Okay," Rees said skipping out of the room.

Naruto began to grow suspicious about what Jiraya wanted to talk about. She definitely didn't want to talk about what had happened at school nor anything relating to it.

Gaara came through the door followed closely by Kiba; they looked at Naruto and Jiraya.

"Shit," Kiba muttered, "you heard us talking. Sorry, Naruto." She shrugged but said nothing.

"Okay, Naruto, what happened that had Kiba and Gaara making bodyguard plans on the side?" Jiraya asked his voice still gentle but firm.

"Nothing," she said, "and I don't need any body guards." She glared at the younger two then turned to pick up her sketch book.

"Nothing left bruises on you cheeks and jaw?" Jiraya asked studying her closely. She had pulled on some fingerless gloves that hid most of her lower arms. He hand flew to her face as if she was going to hide what he had already seen. Her hand fisted before dropping to her side.

"I can take care of it myself," she muttered. "I have been taking care of it.'

"You're not taking care of it if it still happening," Jiraya's voice became hard, the voice of a parent, or the voice of someone in authority. It reminded her of her father's and her head dropped.

"I've taken care of myself for the past two years, I don't need anyone trying to be my parent," she spoke harshly; "they are dead!"

"Naruto," Jiraya barked, flinching. "No one is trying to tell you how to live your life. All we are trying to do is help you so that you don't end up hurt or worse. If someone at school is harassing you then we need to know about it, just in case. Or are you will to take the responsibility of someone else getting hurt because they don't know what's going on.

"Naruto, if this guy gets away with hurting you then it's a sure bet that he's been getting away with hurting others, probably girls like you and weaker, most especially weaker ones because they don't know how to defend themselves. You're stronger than them, you can stop this guy, but it's clear that you need our help to do it."

"I know, don't you think I don't know that? And I've tried to stop him!" Naruto was pacing back and forth in front of them.

"Then let us help! Gaara and Kiba can keep you safe during the day while you're in school. This kid isn't going to try anything while there are witnesses, and Tsunade and I can give you self defense lessons, above and beyond what you already know."

"We'll explain what's going on to Sasuke and he'll help out too," Kiba chimed in.

"No! No, I don't want his help. If he couldn't tell what was happening right in front of him then he doesn't need to know now." Naruto hissed, "Got that!"

The three nodded but looked puzzled.

"Naruto, what is this guy's name?" Jiraya asked changing the topic.

"Kabuto Yakushi."

"Can you tell us a little bit about him? Maybe we can establish a pattern or a weakness."

"He's older; he should've graduated last year. He's smart but he didn't pass his final exams."

"Makes sense," Jiraya said. Naruto gave him a questioning look. "His hunting ground is the school, right? Then it's only fair to assume that he is comfortably well established and knows how to get what he wants from his prey. A change of scenery and different types of people that college would hold and his prey gets much harder to find."

Naruto really didn't get it but she was willing to accept what Jiraya was saying at face value.

"When did he first start harassing you?"

"When I was a freshman, he was nice at first, willing to help out, showed me how to get to my classrooms and all that, but then he said that he wanted favors in return for his help. He's been after me since. When I tried to complain about the harassment, they believed him over me. His father is a high official in the town or something. I heard a rumor that when he was a freshman a girl complained that she was being harassed and when the school investigated the town yanked some funding and for them to get it back, the school dropped the case and issued a formal apology to Kabuto."

"Gaara, would you get a hold of Konkuro and ask him about Kabuto. He might know a little more about the guy," Jiraya asked turning to the red head who nodded his arms folded across his chest.

"I'm going to get a hold of some old friends of mine and see if I can track down any information on the father," Jiraya got up. "Oh, and Naruto, I don't want you to feel trapped, but until we know more I would like it if you took someone with you when you leave the house. Tsunade will be home tonight and we'll start that extra training tomorrow." He left. "Kiba!"

"Coming," Kiba bounded out of the room, leaving Naruto to mull over everything that had just happened.

Despite her telling them that she didn't want or need their help, she felt particularly warm in knowing that she wasn't alone in her fight any longer. She smiled slightly and for the first time in years the smile reached her eyes.

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"Naruto! Oh, thank you God, Naruto. Finally!"

Naruto was squished into a large chest that nearly suffocated her. "Hmmough! Nt Tsnnamph!"

"What?" Tsunade pushed Naruto away from her.

"I said I couldn't breath, Aunt Tsunade," Naruto muttered, her face red. She looked up into the warm honey brown eyes. She hadn't seen them since her parents' funeral. Tsunade's long blond hair was tied into loose pigtails on either side of her head, and there was a lilac diamond on the center of her forehead. She looked exactly the same as the sad long ago day. Naruto felt tears sting her eyes but blinked them back rapidly as nostalgia filled her heart.

"Jiraya told me what happened, I am so sorry I couldn't get you into our custody, Naruto. The state decided that contact with non relations would be better for your adjustment," Tsunade looked away for a second before her eyes found Naruto and studied her from her head to her feet. "What the hell is that you're wearing?"

"Clothes," Naruto looked down at her normal black t-shirt and black jeans, she tucked her hands into her front pocket and shrugged slightly.

Tsunade raised an impeccably groomed eyebrow and frowned at the lack of girlish style on Naruto. "We can go shopping tomorrow," she said in dismissal before taking Naruto's hand and dragging her along behind her to the kitchen where she began to pull out the makings of an omelet.

They talked about inconsequential things while Tsunade cooked, moving around the kitchen in her usual efficient flare. Naruto talked very little about the families she had literally been kicked out of, and mostly about school and grades, which hers were satisfactory. Tsunade talked about her work and the boys that she fostered.

She paused in her speech and looked at Naruto with a little surprise, "You know, you are the first girl that's been fostered by us. Hmm."

Naruto made her escape to go beck to her room. She mounted the stairs and came to a quick halt seeing Sasuke coming down the hallway. Taking a deep fortifying breath she raised her chin slightly, averting her eyes to watch the floor instead of his lithe frame coming towards her.

He stepped into her path forcing to stop once more and look up at him in puzzlement. He was wearing a curious expression with a lifted brow.

"I'm wondering how much you charge for your services? I'm thinking that I might like a sample before you become disease ridden," he said, his voice serious and gentle compared to the words that came out.

Naruto clenched her teeth and her fist counted to ten, then to thirty.

"Fuck it!" Her fist shot out and clipped him hard in the nose. He collapsed into a groaning ball at her feet and she felt a little better but she still wanted to stomp his ass into a bloody mass. She looked down at him. "You talk to me again, ever and I won't be responsible for putting you into the hospital." She went to step past only to have him grab her wrist and yank her down next to him.

A trickle of blood escaped his nose as he looked at her. "If you have a problem with this, then perhaps you should change your occupation." She punched him with her other hand only to have him catch that hand too. She glared at him feeling the same helplessness crowd in that Kabuto inspired when he cornered her. "Once was more than enough," he growled. "You hit me again and I won't be responsible for my actions!"

"Then keep your comments to yourself, because you don't know the first thing about me," Naruto hissed then jerked her wrists away as he let go. She stood and strode as calmly to her room as she could when she wanted to run to get away from him.

Sasuke watched her go as he gained his feet, her back ridged and her shoulders squared. He didn't know what had possessed him to say those things to her, but when she had walked towards him with that determined look, the one that said she was going to ignore him, he had wanted to get a response out of her.

He lifted his hand to brush the blood from his upper lip, he smiled. He certainly had gotten a response. She had a mean right hook. The fire that had burned in her eyes as she glared at him had nearly been his undoing. He knew that she had wanted to kick his ass up around his head but at least she hadn't ignored him.

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**A/N I swear that seemed to take forever!. I was stuck for a while but I guess I worked through it. I hope that you like the chapter. Please leave a review or I will send Tobi to haunt you in your sleep. He will say "Tobi is a good boy" until your brain rots.  
**

**Zen  
**


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto slept badly that night. She dreamed of running down the school hallway, being chased by Kabuto, his high pitched laughter chasing her. As a result she woke up later than she intended and more tired than when she had gone to bed. Tobi jumped up onto the bed as she stirred, her mouth opened but no sound came out as she rubbed against the hand Naruto held out to her. Shaking off the dream, she flung the covers back causing Tobi to jump off the bed and throw her a questioning look before padding to the window and disappearing out it.

Naruto pulled on a clean t-shirt and jeans that were rattier than yesterday's pair followed by a pair of black socks and her converse sneakers. She pulled on a belt to help keep the pants in place on her narrow hips then pulled a brush through the tangled mane of hair grateful that she had taken time to shower last night before finishing her homework. She stretched and punched the air in front of her a few times to kick start her energy level.

She bounded out of the room and down the stairs feeling pretty good, until she ran smack dab into Sasuke's chest as he rounded the corner from the kitchen.

"Omph! Hey, watch where you're going," Naruto snarled before looking into the obsidian eyes. She ground her teeth together to keep from saying anything more.

Sasuke smirked as he took a step back to allow her to slide by. "You can run into me anytime," he murmured as Naruto tried her best to get past without touching him, by when she was level with his chest he leaned into her causing her breast to brush against him.

The contact should have brought at the very least disgust if not out right nausea, not left them tingling at the contact burning for more.

She briefly closed her eyes to fight the sensation before grabbing a package of Poptarts out of the cupboard and sliding onto a stool next to Tatsuo who smiled shyly at her. She returned the smile and handed him one of the pastries and biting into hers. He took it and consumed the sweet in no less than four bites; she blinked as he grinned around it then hopped of the stool and ran out of the Kitchen.

"Good morning!" Tsunade called out as she dodged the small boy, coming into the kitchen. Naruto waved but didn't speak because her mouth was full of frosted bread. Tsunade went to the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk pouring one for herself and one for Naruto. She plunked the cup in front of the girl with an expectant look and Naruto obliged by downing more than half the contents.

"Thanks."

"Well, I have some time off this afternoon so where do you want to go shopping?" Tsunade asked.

"Uh, I'm fine with what I have already, Aunt Tsunade," Naruto began only to be halted as the older woman held out a hand.

"Nonsense, we are going shopping."

"I guess we can go to the mall. Hot Topic is sure to have their summer clothes out now."

"That's fine, we'll pick up Hinata Hyuga also; her mother was saying that she was spending way too much time locked in her room."

"Who…?"

"Hinata. You should remember her; she's a shy little child with hair so dark it's nearly blue."

Naruto had a brief memory flash of a tiny girl that stuttered every other word, badly. She nodded in recognition. "Okay. I've got to get to school, so I'll see you later." She waved as she jumped off the stool and ran out of the kitchen.

Gaara was coming down the stair, his normal dress of long black Matrix coat on over jeans and a black book bag slung across his chest. Kiba was close behind him in a mach worn leather jacket that had zippers everywhere, his dog, Akamaru, next to him. Naruto shook her head as seeing the pony sized animal that seemed to squint at everyone in a glaring fashion, but the pet was more than willing to accept anyone who patted his head.

"You ready?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah, just about. Let me run up stairs and grab my bag." She bounded up the stairs to her room and returned a few minutes later so see that Sasuke had joined the party. Her jaw clenched as they headed out the door.

She made sure that she was stationed between Gaara and Kiba, and was contemplated holding onto them to keep them in place. Sasuke trailed behind another smirk in place on his sardonic lips. His hands were tucked into his pockets and his stride was lazy, unhurried. _Crap!_ She thought as she noticed that she was paying attention to him. She jerked her thought back to the two guys that were walking with her.

"What's your first class?" Naruto asked Kiba.

"I have Government with Genma Shiranui," Kiba replied, "I like him, he makes the class interesting. We always end up arguing about something; yesterday it was whether a man accused of murder should be allowed out on bail. I'm of the opinion that since he hasn't been convicted then he still is innocent."

"Yeah, I agree that Genma is an excellent teacher. Did you know that unless the cops have a very specific warrant then you can stay in your house and they can't arrest you?"

"Yeah, Genma told us about that last week. Cool!"

"Hey, there's Shikamaru, we have first period together so I'll see you guys later."

Naruto waved back at them with a glance before she ran ahead to catch up with Shikamaru. She noticed that Sasuke's smirk was now gone and a frown had replaced it but she pushed the thought away. She gave Shikamaru's hand a high five before they turned and entered the building.

"So what's the verdict?" Shikamaru asked as they made their way through the throng of students to their lockers.

"What do you mean?" Naruto edged past a group of cheerleaders who were gossiping like a gaggle of geese.

"Did you tell your foster parents?"

"Didn't have to, Jiraya overheard Kiba and Gaara talking so he came up to see me. He's having Gaara ask his older brother if he heard anything about what Kabuto was up to in the past. I guess he's hoping to find that someone complained about Kabuto and is willing to help us out. He thinks that Kabuto has been 'hunting' in this school that therefore is unwilling to leave so he deliberately flunked his exams." Naruto opened her locker and stuffed her books into the bag so that she didn't have to come back until the end of the day.

"That make since, he has established a pattern in the school and perhaps he doesn't want to risk getting caught by trying to establish one somewhere else." Shikamaru leaned against the wall as he waited for Naruto to finish loading her books into the bag. His arms were crossed in front on his chest. He rolled his eyes as a pink haired girl got into an argument with a girl whose hair was pulled back into a long ponytail.

"Yeah, well, I would feel a lot better if he had just left the school," Naruto muttered slamming the locker shut. Her balance was a little off because of the weight of the bag with dragged her shoulder down. "Geez, I swear that the books get a heavier every year!"

They went to their first class and found seats in the back. Naruto dropped her bag onto the floor and slid into her desk grateful that she had an hour before she had to lug the thing to the next class. She fished out a notebook and text along with a pen for note taking. She was relaxing into the seat when Sasuke came into the room.

_WHAT THE HELL?_ Her eyes widened as he located her and sauntered up the row to take the seat next to her. She turned her body and head away from him in a deliberate snub only to hear his low chuckle at her childishness. Her body became tense and her fingers dug into the poor desk so hard that she was sure she was going to leave furrows in the wood. Shikamaru glanced at Naruto in confusion before Kurenai Yuhi began their lesson.

"May I borrow a pen," Sasuke asked softly leaning towards her. Her hand shot out as she offered her pen to him. He took it with a simple, "Thanks," then began writing in his notebook.

Naruto dug out a new one and proceeded to ignore him for the rest of the class. The class seemed to drag on and despite her resolve she couldn't help but be aware of his presence next to her. It seemed like the heat of his body kept reaching out and caressing her. She could barely keep her focus on the lesson and felt a surge of relief when Kurenai told them that she was going to organize them into groups for the experiment they would be working on.

"Shikamaru, you will be working with Ino, today. And Naruto, I would like you to work with Sasuke since he just transferred to this class." Naruto glanced at Sasuke with a look akin to horror before her eyes shot to Shikamaru's whose eyes had narrowed as he watched the girl with the long ponytail approach.

"Troublesome," he muttered under his breath getting to his feet and tucking his hands into his pockets.

Naruto followed Sasuke back to the lab tables and pulled on an old lab coat and goggle. Sasuke followed suit saying nothing. They pulled out the chemicals they would be using and the glass beakers, tubes, hoses, and Bunsen burners.

"So how long do you think you can ignore me?" Sasuke asked in amusement as Naruto measured out chemicals.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto hissed.

"Well, I overheard Jiraya saying that he wanted someone to transfer into your classes to 'keep and eye on you' and mine were the only ones that were similar enough to transfer at this late date so…" He shrugged. "I'm kind of surprised by his perceptiveness, I didn't think he would grow suspicious of your…er…extra curricular activities, but looks like he doesn't trust you."

Naruto's hand clenched around the small tube nearly cracking it before she carefully set it down. She took the coat off along with the goggles, then picked up her books and headed for the door.

"Naruto?" Kurenai asked as Naruto slipped out the door. Shikamaru caught the closing door and was out of the class before Kurenai could say anything more.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he caught up to her. She was shaking with anger.

"That…that…him!" she snarled as she paced down the hallway and out the side doors closest to them. She dropped back against the brick building now that she was out in the air, leaning back and raising her face to the sun closing her eyes as she tried to cool her temper.

"What did he say?"

"He's still insinuating that I'm the school slut and now he's transferred into all of my classes!" Naruto felt like howling at the injustice of it.

"Hmm, it'll be troublesome but I could speak to him for you," Shikamaru said coming to lean against the building with her, looking up at the clouds that drifted lazily through the sky.

"No! If that shit for brains can't figure things out for him self then I don't want anyone telling him anything!" Naruto was adamant about that, she didn't know why, but she wanted him to acknowledge that he was wrong on his own.

"Mm."

They stayed there until the second bell rang warning that the classes were about to start. Shikamaru walked her to the next class before heading off to find his. She walked in to see that the only seat available was next to _him_ again. Her jaw was beginning to hurt from being ground together but she made her way to the seat and dropped into it. She thanked her lucky stars that at least they wouldn't be broken into a group. Math was beginning to be her favorite subject.

She didn't know how she made it to lunch but she did and relaxed as Gaara stood at the door. She waved to him and rushed out, away from Sasuke whose lips were curled with sardonic amusement. She led him out to the usual spot and caught an apple that Chouji chucked her way. She bit into it lying back on the grass her arm lifting to cover her eyes from the glare of the sun.

"I'm going shopping with Aunt Tsunade this afternoon," she said casually. She heard a chuckle from Chouji and lifted the arm just enough to glare at him.

"How did she talk you into that?" the big guy asked as he opened his second bag of chips.

"I don't know, but we're going to the mall. She said we're taking some girl named Hinata with us."

Gaara straightened at the mention of the name. "Hinata Hyuga?"

"Yeah, Tsunade said that the girl's mother was becoming concerned because she was spending way to much time in her room."

Gaara snorted at that then looked away as Naruto gave him a puzzled frown. "Don't suppose you want to come too?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, if you want me to?" Gaara said way too casually. Naruto nearly laughed at the guy because a hint of red was creeping into his cheeks.

"Might be fun."

"Fine, I'll come."

Naruto giggled then replaced her arm back into the position and finished her apple.

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Naruto made it through school without running into Kabuto and having a major blow up at the smirking, sardonic Sasuke. She had to give herself credit for not taking a staple gun to his forehead or any other parts of him. She walked home with Gaara; Kiba had said something about seeing a guy named Shino and needing to talk to him. Sasuke, she learned, had soccer practice after school so she was able to breathe a sigh of relief that she wouldn't have another run in with him for a while.

Tsunade was waiting for them with keys dangling as they put their books away. The drive was a short one and Naruto got shotgun with a quick laugh in Gaara's direction leaving him to sit in the back with a tomato faced Hinata.

"H-Hi, N-n-naru-t-to!" Hinata said when she saw her.

"Hinata," Naruto greeted the shy, stuttering teen.

They reached the mall with a minimum of words since, neither Gaara nor Hinata were big on talking. Naruto caught the little looks that they passed back a forth, but she didn't know how she could break the tension without embarrassing them or her.

Naruto dragged Hinata into Hot Topic and began to shop in earnest, or with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. To her it was like going to the dentist and having all of her teeth pulled without anesthesia, but she was going to make an effort if not for Tsunade's sake. She pulled several outfits, all in black, off the racks and went to the dressing room where she tried them on and discarded all but the t-shirts that she had picked. She showed the picks to Tsunade who grimaced and tried to talk her into choosing something that had a little color to it but Naruto grimaced back at the yellow and flowery shirt that she held up.

Naruto noticed that Gaara and Hinata were browsing a rack but had their heads together talking quietly. Hinata's face was pink but some of the color had left making Naruto feel a little better about the girl. Gaara's face had a soft expression as he watched the dark haired girl flip through some of the clothing.

In the end, Naruto bought a couple of outfits, mostly black, with a few dark grey items thrown it, and Tsunade stubbornly bought several outfits in Naruto's size in brighter colors, or blue, red, and Easter colors.

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**A/N I ended up having to change some things in this chapter but nothing major, just a mistake that I ended up make because most of my stories are written off the top of my head and not outlined. But thanks so much for your interest and leave a review!**

**ZEN ( the lost and confused)  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Dark eyes blinked open and a frown appeared as Sasuke tried to figure out what had woken him from a deep sleep. One of the better ones that he'd had in a while. He rolled onto his side and buried his face in the pillow with a groan when he heard a small whimper.

_Crap_, he though, _Rees is going to wake everyone with that noise._ He threw back the covers and stood. He straightened the waist band of his shorts and pulled on a blue t-shirt before leaving his room and making his way to the boys' room. He opened the door and through the dim nightlight lit room he looked at the boy in question. Rees was sprawled out on the twin bed, he arms thrown wide as he snored deeply. Sasuke watched for a few minutes then heard another whimper but it wasn't coming from Rees. It was coming from across the hall, from Naruto's room.

He closed the door on the boys and looked at the white door of Naruto's room. He hesitated then pressed an ear to the door. He could hear thrashing coming from inside and small terrified sounds. He looked at the ceiling wondering what he should do. One part of him was ready and willing to leave the girl to her nightmares, while the other wanted to rush to her side and comfort her. His reasonable side urged him to remember the rules, while another grinned at the look that Naruto would be wearing when she woke up to see him.

"No, let me go!" the small shout coming from inside decided him and he pushed open the door. He closed it silently and padded across to the figure that was moving in quick jerky movements on the bed as though she was fighting some unseen creature and from the sounds that were coming from her throat she was.

"Naruto!" he hissed trying to wake her with out touching her, but she continued to sleep. He reached out and shook her shoulder, then ended up ducking as flying fist as Naruto aimed at him. "Fuck it!" he snared and grabbed both of her arms and shook her.

She came awake instantly that she was held down, her eyes widened at the shadow that loomed over her and she opened her mouth to scream. Before a sound left her, a hand clamped down and the shadow came nearer.

"Don't do that or you're going to wake the whole house," Sasuke snarled quietly at the girl. A low growl came from deep within her and she erupted. The arm that he had released snapped out and the hand connected with his cheek solidly. He cursed before climbing onto the bed and wrestling with her squirming body and after a brief and hard fought silent battle, he lay panting on her still form his hand still covering her mouth. His legs were holding hers down and he had the other hand clamped on hers. Even though it was dark and he could barely make out the pixie features under him he could see that killing glare that she was giving him.

"Okay, I'm going to let you go, please do not scream, I don't want to deal with Jiraya if he comes in to find me here. I'm NOT going to do anything to you that you don't want done and I didn't come in here to rape you!" Sasuke was panting but he was also reacting to the firm curvy body under his. "Are you going to scream if I let you go?"

Naruto looked away from him in defeat and shook her head. The instant that she did his hand loosened but didn't really let her go; he was ready to clamp it back in place if she didn't keep her word.

"I'm going to get up now, alright?" She nodded again and felt him ease off of her but he didn't sit up he just rolled away from her staying by her side. He was now lying on his back and he flung his arm over his eyes. Naruto watched him in wary disbelief, trying to figure out why he wasn't taking advantage of her surrender.

"I was just trying to wake you up," he muttered, "I didn't think that you would attack me."

Naruto remained quiet but she looked up at the ceiling, frowning.

"Do you want to talk about the dream you were having?"

Naruto scoffed at the question, "Why would you care? Since I came here you haven't exactly cared for me."

Sasuke frowned lifting the arm from his face and looking at the dark profile.

"Just because I don't approve of your…occupation doesn't mean that I'm don't feel things," he told her.

"Just once can you not insult me," Naruto said angrily looking back at him.

"Okay, fine, a truce," he held out a hand. Naruto hesitated but then reached over and took it, he shook it before letting it go.

Naruto began to feel self conscious lying there with him next to her. She could feel the warmth that radiated off his body not to mention that the shirt he was wearing clung to him emphasizing the toned body. She began to let her mind wander into territories that she was better off not thinking about because they left a vulnerable heat inside her.

"Tell me about what you were dreaming of," he urged quietly, the tone of his voice soft and accepting. Naruto knew he had done it deliberately trying to make her feel safe and open towards him.

"I really don't remember," Naruto lied.

"I don't think that you're being honest with me," he murmured then turned on his side, propping up on one elbow so that he could see her better. "Is it a memory?"

She was startled at the intuition that he was showing. She swallowed and took a deep shaky breath.

"Yes," she began speaking, her voice broken and jerky. "It was my first foster home, and I wasn't naïve about some of the things that happen in the homes but I guess I just was in the frame of mind that it wouldn't happen to me."

"The woman was nice and she tried to make me feel at home, or she tried her best to make me feel welcome instead of like the intruder that I was. She had a son, her own son, and I knew that they'd had foster kids before so I thought that I was safe. It started out with him just getting in the way, making sure that I would brush up against him when ever I passed him in the hall so I wasn't thinking that he was doing it on purpose but then he started saying things. Telling me that I was cute, then more. I was uneasy around him, not in a blatant way, but like I was waiting for a snake to strike. I told myself that I was just feeling that way because of my parent's death. Then I heard the door open to my room one night. Nothing happened but in the morning I asked the woman if she had checked up on me in the night because someone had come to my room. You would have thought that I was accusing her of the vilest things the way she reacted yelling that I was making things up to get her into trouble." Naruto paused in her story taking a breath before plunging onward.

"He started coming into my room at night and he would just stand there and watch. I confronted him once asking him to stay out but he would smirk and tell me that it was my own fault. He said that I was seducing him and if I wanted him to stop I would have to stop. Of course, I didn't have any idea what he was talking about, so I started to ignore him. I dressed in clothes that were baggy and covered nearly every inch. I pulled my hair back into a pony tail, I did everything I could think of to get him to quit paying attention to me, even to the point that I would go days without bathing." Naruto laughed, but it wasn't a pleasant sound. Sasuke watched her carefully seeing the self doubt that flickered in her eyes, having grown accustomed to the dimness of the room. He wanted to reach out and comfort her but was afraid if he did that she would quit talking.

"Then one night I guess that he got tired of waiting and he touched me. Came right up to the bed, pulled the covers off and began to fondle my breasts. I wasn't going to lay there letting him do it so I screamed. He covered my mouth, like you did, and I fought back. He began to hit me and I hit back. The woman called the police to tell them that I was killing her son. It took two of them to pull me off him. By then I had cracked his head open and nearly killed him." Naruto seemed to jerk as if relieving that moment. She snorted, "They believed her. Told them that I had tried to seduce her precious child and when I seceded then I tried to kill him."

Sasuke took a few minutes to digest the words, analyzing them for a hidden agenda. He was seeing the certain references that paralleled his own accusations. He didn't want to believe her innocence it would mean that he was wrong and an Uchiha was never wrong.

"Hmm…that's quite a story," he murmured as he moved to sit up.

Naruto looked at him in disbelief. He didn't believe her?

"I believe that you think that's what happened," Sasuke said making her realize that she had voice the question out loud. "But without proof, then there's really no telling how things went, is there?" He said the words gently, quietly, calmly.

Naruto's hands clenched as she sat up. Her teeth gritted together and an unholy anger surged through her, one that encompassed the anger she had felt that night times ten. She began to shake trying to contain it.

"Get…out…" she said quietly, clearly. "I don't care if I'm being murdered, don't come near me again."

Sasuke smirked at her and left. He felt relief because he had been close to believing the girl, and that wasn't going to happen. He wasn't an Uchiha for nothing.

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A poke in the side jerked Naruto out of a nap. Opening her eyes she saw a pair of emerald green eyes looking at her curiously. She sat up and wiped the trickle of drool that was escaped off.

"Its lunch time," the girl said before turning away her pink hair swinging in the short bob that she had styled it.

Blinking she looked around to see that the class had emptied. There wasn't anyone at the door waiting and she wondered about that. She thought about it for all of a second then shrugged it off. Kiba must have been held up. Naruto gathered her things up and stuffed them into the bag and headed out into the deserted corridor. She left the building by the side door meaning to cut around the back of the school to get to the usual spot.

"Don't!!" a high shriek caught her ears and Naruto looked around. The girl with the pink hair was being yanked into behind a set of empty bleachers. Naruto dropped her bag and took off running.

She came around the bleachers to see Kabuto and his pack of slavering pigs. He was laughing as two of his henchmen held the girl in place as he ripped open her shirt. The girl was crying huge tears as she struggled futilely with them. She cried out again when Kabuto took out a knife and sliced through her bra exposing the white flesh to the world.

"Kabuto," Naruto snarled as she dropped into a crouch. She charged the grey haired monster slamming into his side which carried them over and sent them crashing to the ground. Naruto popped up before he could recover and slammed her fist into his recently healed nose breaking it again.

The two that held the girl let go seeing Naruto take on their leader. The girl clutched the shirt together and watched the whole thing with the scared horrified look in her eyes. Naruto grabbed two fists full of hair and slammed his head down only to be knocked back as Kabuto launched his offensive. He decked her with a closed fist catching her on the side of her jaw which stunned her enough that he could push her off and gain his feet. Naruto staggered upright and waited still a little blurry from the hit.

Kabuto snarled seeing her there. "Naruto, come to take her place?" He gestured rudely at the other girl who seemed to be in a daze.

"Oh, hell, no, you ass wipe," Naruto snarled "but I'm not about to let you rape someone if I can prevent it." She was looking around furtively for a weapon, and then remembered the knife that she had bought while at the mall. She had slipped it in among the clothing. She reached for it…

_Shit!_ It was gone. She glanced around then saw a glint of it a couple a feet away, at the same time that Kabuto saw it. He smiled broadly then looked at her.

"Ha, lost your little toy did you?"

Naruto dived for it only to have his foot come down and kick it out of her reach again then he drew back and kicked her solidly in the stomach. The breath left Naruto in a grunt. She could only imagine that at that instant she looked like a fish out of water, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to get air back into her lungs. Kabuto came down to straddle her, his face inches from her.

"I own you twice you little bitch," his glasses gone and his pale blue eyes, studying her coldly. He pulled back his hand then brought it down the fist slamming into the side of her head causing it to ring and bounce to the side. Naruto swung wildly and caught him between the legs but there was little force behind it at least not enough to incapacitate him. He roared and brought his fist down twice more. The weight left her as she tried to focus on a world that was suddenly a swimming grey.

There was a shout and running footsteps. Through her dimming vision she say Kabuto and his crew leave then a pair of black sneakers were filling her vision. She faintly heard Sasuke's voice ask what had happened and a small, soft voice of the girl before everything blacked out.

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**A/N someone keeps telling me I'm mean but I just have to say...MWAHAHAHA!!!!!. and I didn't choose the chapter name. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. WOW two in one day. YAY ME!!! and YOU!!! Leave a reveiw and let me know. or I will send Kabuto over and you know how he has a thing for snakes O.O**

**Zen  
**


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto opened blurry eyes to a rush of noise, people talking over her and someone crying. She could see that Sasuke was arguing with Gaara, Kiba was trying to comfort the pink haired girl who kept shaking her head. Shikamaru was kneeling next to her watching the whole process while Chouji was standing off to the side munching on a bag of BBQ chips.

"Shut…UP!" she tried to yell, but her skull seemed to fragment at the noise and her vision grew gray again.

"Hey, don't try to move," Shikamaru muttered his eyes come back to find hers open. "I think you have a concussion. Hey you two, Naruto's awake and your argument is giving her a headache."

Immediately the two quit arguing and came to tower over her; their shadows blocking out the entirely too intense glare of the sun. Naruto sighed a bit with relief before trying to focus on them.

"Naruto, what happened?" Sasuke asked his face coming closer leaning over her.

She wanted to roll her eyes at him but refrained. "I was beaten up, teme."

"Don't be such an ursatonkachi," he muttered looking down at the pale face seeing the beginning of bruises.

"The police will be here any minute and I've contacted your guardians and an ambulance," the authoritative voice of the principal said as the man stepped up to lean over her also. His brown eyes were gazing in concern down at the girl.

At the mention of the ambulance a deep fear filled Naruto and she began to struggle to sit up pushing against the hands that were trying to hold her in place. Dizziness swamped her and a pair of strong arms came around her to hold her still. She swallowed convulsively to hold down the contents of her stomach at the wave of nausea, which also made her lean against a hard chest absorbing the warmth that radiated from it. Taking stock of her injuries she decided that she was also in a state of shock so was grateful for the heat.

"I'm not going to the hospital," she muttered in the direction of the principal or at least where she thought he was standing.

"I don't think you're going to have a choice," he said, his voice coming in the total opposite direction that she had thought and she frowned darkly.

"Don't be moving around so quick, I'm having a hard enough time dealing with it as it is," she growled then decided that talking was just too much of a hassle and her head dropped to the shoulder she was leaning on. She breathed deeply the musky clean smell that was coming from the nice soft shirt under her cheek. She smiled weakly before closing her eyes and thinking that the shirt had a really good scent as well as the flesh under it.

"Don't say things that you're going to regret later," Sasuke said in her ear. She grimaced at him but didn't reply as the darkness cloaked her vision.

^.~

Naruto woke to quiet this time. She was lying propped against some pillows and covered in a white sheet and wool blanket. Glancing around, she felt an impending sense of doom race through her because she knew she was in the last place she wanted to be. She had an IV in her arm that was attached to a clear bag that was feeding her fluids; a needle was stuck in her arm as well as one of those finger things that keep track of your pulse. She took stock of the aches and pains and came to the conclusion that she wasn't feeling them because of the pain medication that she was being fed through the tubes. There was a dull head ache and a light sting in her cheek but she wasn't feeling any of the effects of her fight with Kabuto.

Deciding that she wasn't staying in where she was she flung the blankets covering her off, noticed that she was only in her stockings, and began to disengage the tubes and electronic devices. Immediately the monitor began to make a low beeping and Naruto searched it for the off switch and punched it making the machine quiet. She glared at the irritating traitor for a second then searched around for her shoes, which she didn't find but shrugged her shoulders thinking that she didn't really need them.

She opened the door to the outside and looked around. Jiraiya and Tsunade were standing at the end of the hall talking to the doctor along with a cop. Gaara and Kiba were leaning against the wall listening to what the doctor was telling them and nodding occasionally. Naruto thought for a second about how she was going to go about slipping past them then she opened the door and slid out of the room as quietly as possible. She made her way down the hall and around the corner grinning as she was able to make a get away without them noticing.

She made her way through the corridors, past the nurse's desk, and into another wing of the building before she began to feel the effects of the pain medication begin to wear off, and the dull throbbing in her head intensified. She paused to lean against the wall and put a hand to her forehead hoping that the dizziness wasn't going to come back.

"Hey, are you alright?" She heard a boy ask and looked up. A boy was standing in front of her wearing a thick flannel robe and a long green scarf. His dark brown hair was standing on end and he was holding onto a wheeled IV pole, looking at her curiously.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just got into a fight today and now I'm trying to escape this place without anyone finding out about it," she informed him. She looked up the hallway towards a point where two nurses were talking together then separated with intense looks, one going up hallway away and another coming directly towards them. Naruto looked around and then grabbed the boy and pulled him through the nearest door way and into a supply closet.

He grinned at her leaning back against the door, one of those that said he knew exactly how she felt about the place and would be doing the same thing if he was in her shoes. "I can show you where to go," he said in a conspiratorial whisper then motioned her to follow him. Peeking out the door he waved her out and through the maze of hallways and through rooms until they arrived at a set of doors that were marked with a big EXIT sign above them.

"Hey, kid," Naruto asked standing in front of the doors, "whacha in for?"

"Leukemia," he said with a wry smile.

Naruto felt a deep sense of sorrow for the boy. "How long have you had it?"

"Two years, seven months, and five…no, six days," he said, "but the doctors say that I could go into remission any day now."

"I hope so," Naruto said.

"Why do you hate hospitals, you are shut up in one?" he asked. Naruto smiled wryly.

"No, but I lost my parents to a car accident that put me in the hospital for a long time. It's where I learned that my parents were dead so I have a lot of bad memories associated with hospitals," Naruto explained, then changed the subject, "What's your name?"

"Konohamaru, Sarutobi Konohamaru!"

"You're named after the village! That's so cool," Naruto said and got a grin for her trouble. She could saw a couple of interns coming around the corner and basically ducked behind the boy. "Thanks, Konohamaru, I'll definitely come and see you again!" With a little wave and a grin in his direction Naruto went out the doors and stood looking around. She was next to the parking lot on the other side of the hospital. She sighed in relief then took a step in the direction that would take her to the bus stop and home.

"So, you aren't going to wait for the doctor to let you go home or for Tsunade and Jiraiya to take you there."

Naruto jerked around to see Sasuke leaning against the side of the building; his arms folded across his chest as well as his feet. Naruto scowled as the good mood that she was in evaporated immediately.

"What the hell do you want and how the hell did you find me?"

"I saw you slip out of the room and followed you, when I knew where you were headed with that kid a slipped out a different way and came around here." He straightened then tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Well, you can just go back. I'll make my own way back to the house."

"I don't think so, you're hurt still and I think it a better idea if we just go back into the building. You have a concussion and the doctor was telling us that he was going to keep you over night."

"Really? Then I guess its better that I just make my way home from here because I'm not staying here."

Sasuke studied her for a moment then smirked. "I would rather not have to carry you in but I will if you don't go quietly."

Naruto's jaw clenched as the anger rose inside her; she didn't understand the reaction he always inspired and she was getting damn sick and tired of his superior attitude, the I'm-holier-than-thou-because-I-have-a-tree-trunk-shoved-up-my-ass attitude. But she also knew that she wouldn't be able to take him because of how weak the fight earlier had left her.

"You know, one of these days some doctor is going to have to surgically remove that anal blockage you have and I would love to be there to see the giddiness that will radiate from every pour of your stoic perfection." Naruto mumble under her breath but Sasuke had heard and snorted at her. She turned and they made their way back to the room where Tsuanade glared a killer death glare at Naruto who just smiled back at her knowing that the woman was containing the yells that would blow the roof off the hospital.

"I guess if you're able to run around the hospital, causing everyone to panic, then you're able to go home," the doctor said, then writing down a prescription for pain medication and instructions for Jiraiya and Tsunade to follow for her care. "Take it easy, I want you on bed rest tomorrow." He handed the papers to Jiraiya who carefully folded them and tucked them away inside his jacket.

"Ah, before you leave, I would like to ask Naruto some questions," the cop came forward holding out a hand to her. "I'm Captain Yamato."

Naruto looked at the hand suspiciously but didn't take it. She frowned up at the guy until his hand dropped and a serious expression took the place of the trust-me look.

"Naruto, could you tell me about the fight?" He began.

"It was just a fight." Her tone of voice was bored and uncaring.

"The girl, Haruno Sakura, said that she was being harassed and that you stepped in is that right?"

"I guess so." She gave nothing away, kept her voice even.

"There was more that one guy, wasn't there?"

"Maybe, but I only fought one guy."

"Can you give me a description?"

"Didn't you get one from that Sakura girl?"

"She said that everything happened to fast and she couldn't remember."

Naruto nearly smiled at that. Yeah that was just what everyone had said too. "Yeah, it was fast so I wasn't able to get a clear picture either."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Jiraiya and Tsunade were frowning at her. They seemed to know that she was lying and were frankly disapproving. Captain Yamato raised an eyebrow at her, he could see completely through the façade that Naruto was portraying.

"You know that by not giving me some answers you're just letting this guy go so that he could do the same thing to someone else."

Naruto did smile at that. "Hmm…is that right?" She stood and looked at her foster parents. "I'm really tired and I have a killer headache. Can we leave now?"

They nodded gathering up their jackets that they had discarded on nearby chairs and left the hospital.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said as they entered his hand settling onto her shoulder. Her jaw locked and her face closed down into a carefully blank slate with an eyebrow raised in question. It was one of the looks that he had hoped that they had gotten passed, but this one was even more stubborn looking that they one she had worn when she first arrived at the house. It spoke volumes to the older man, it told him that at this point he was going to be talking to deaf ears, and it told him that she was more stubborn than he was. He looked at his wife only to receive a negative shake of her head. Yep, he wasn't going to be getting help from that quarter.

"Naruto, I thought we had reached an understanding that you were going to do everything possible to stop this person…"

"Stuff it, Jiraiya," Naruto muttered and shrugged off the hand. She walked away from the group then up the stairs to the back of the house where her room was. She sat on the side of the bed and picked up the small black cat that had been curled up on the corner. She hugged the warm body to her burying her face into the soft ebony coat. She took a deep breath before her teeth ground together.

She had been an absolute fool to think that she could win against Kabuto. He was stronger, more experiences and he had his father's money to stop anyone from wanting to help her even if they could. Was she to only one who realized that Kabuto could just buy off his problems and if he couldn't then his father had more influence than God, and people just backed off with the usual 'I don't want to get involved' attitude. Maybe thing would have been different if her father was still alive, people had loved him. He had been a well liked mayor but she didn't even have that shield anymore.

A knock came at her door, Naruto scowled at it and debated about ignoring who ever was out there. She opened it to find Rees and Tatsuo standing there with a glass of water.

"Tsunade sent us up with your pain pill and water," Rees explained holding out the pill. She took it but made no attempt to take the pill. Tatsuo held out the glass which Naruto was obligated to accept also. She smiled and said, "Thank you," but neither made a move to leave.

"Um," Tatsuo spoke up, "Tsunade told us to make sure that you took the pill." He looked expectantly at her hand. Naruto quickly popped her hand to her mouth then followed it by the water. Tatsuo nodded and nudged Rees, they both turned and skipped down the hall way happy to have succeeded in their mission and that they could report back to Tsunade with it.

Naruto sighed and closed the door. She dropped the pill into the small garbage can next to the desk and set the half full glass on the night stand. She looked out the window and seeing the branch that her cat used to escape in and out wondered if anyone would miss her if she left. Well, she knew that in her condition if she tried right now she would more than likely end up at the hospital for more than a day. The dizziness was beginning to come back.

The cell in her pocket rang and she pulled it out. She didn't recognize the number but flipped it open in curiosity.

"Naruto? Uzumaki Naruto?" a feminine voice asked a little shakily.

"Yea," Naruto answered, "this is her."

"I'm Haruno Sakura and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," the girl said.

"I'm good, I have a slight concussion but other than that Kabuto didn't do much damage." She was curious as to why this girl felt that she needed to call. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, you saved me before they could do anything."

"Good, I'm glad." It was growing a little awkward for Naruto who really wanted to hang up on the girl.

"That was amazing the way you rushed in and knocked him down. I really though you were going to win," the girl had began gushing.

"Um, yeah, but as long as you're okay then it wasn't anything. How come you didn't give the police Kabuto's description?" Naruto noticed that her voice had hardened with the demand.

"My dad works for his and Kabuto told me that he would have him fired if I said anything," the girl whispered. "My parents can barely make ends meet as it is, if my dad looses his job, I don't know what we would do."

"I see, I guess you did the right thing," Naruto mumbled feeling another burden added to her shoulders.

"Thank you, Naruto," the girl said then hung up.

"Yeah," Naruto said lowly into the silent phone. "You're welcome."

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**A/N Well, a new update. I've been told it's boring and I'm sorry for that. I wrote most of it at 3 in the morning. Well leave a review. **

**ZEN  
**


	8. Chapter 8

Because of the incident, Kakashi came to visit a week earlier than he had planned to and sat on the couch glaring at Naruto the whole time. His eyes burned into her as she squirmed on a chair in front of him. Jiraiya was lounging in the other corner of the couch was a smirk on his face totally entertained with Naruto's discomfort at being under the microscope, so to speak. To cover up her nervousness she lapsed into anger and glared at them both as a defensive reaction.

"Naruto, you want to tell me what happened?" Kakashi asked politely.

"It was no big…I saw a girl being manhandled and did some of my own," she muttered and glanced away.

"Then why didn't you give the police a description of the guys who were manhandling the girl?" Kakashi was studying Naruto closely knowing that there was more to the incident than anyone was sharing. His narrow gaze seemed to pierce straight through Naruto and into the very soul of her. She met the gaze steadily ready to bluff her way through the tension that was radiating off her.

"It seemed to go too fast so I didn't really get a good look at them," she muttered trying to hold the counselors face. She ground her teeth together willing her eyes and body not to betray her at this point.

"Naruto, you have got to control that temper of yours, anymore incidents and the state will have no choice but to send you to juvie," Kakashi said harshly. "I had a hell of a time keeping you out of there after the last house but it's also time that you grew up a little and took responsibility for your actions. If there is another need for me to come out here it will be with the police and you will end up in juvenile hall. Do I make myself clear?"

Naruto lifted her chin in defiance but nodded to the silver haired man. Her jaw was beginning to hurt from being locked down so tightly so that she didn't show how much his words had affected her. Juvenile hall was the last place that she could imagine being; the center for kids who didn't fit into society because of their behaviors. It would be like being thrown away.

Kakashi could see the anger, almost rage in her eyes at his words, and felt sorry for the girl but if push came to shove he would have no choice but to send her there. Despite the facts that were staring him in the face, the state wasn't seeing them. They were reading the reports that said that she was a danger to herself and society; they didn't see the hurt in the girl's eyes. They couldn't see that she had just been defending herself in the only way she knew how.

Shuffling his papers into his briefcase, he sighed and looked her in the eyes.

"Naruto, you have to help yourself, do yourself a favor and quit being so defensive. You need to let the police know what's happening in that school; give them the answers they seek. I am the only person that is standing between you and a prison sentence," he stood and looked at Jiraiya. The old man could see that the younger was sympathetic to the girl despite the cruelty that underlined the tone. The bleak outlook was what the girl needed to come to her senses.

"Thank you for coming, Kakashi," Jiraiya said standing and shaking the man's hand.

"I'm sorry it was under such circumstances," Kakashi said then left the house. He was getting into the car when the door of the house opened and Naruto came flying out.

"Mr. Hatake!" she said rushing up to him. He lifted an eyebrow waiting for her to continue. "You know karate and judo don't you?"

"I know Taekwondo, and Jujutsu, why?" he answered puzzled at this sudden interest in him.

"Would you teach me? I mean I know karate, I've been learning since I was little but…I don't…I need…it's now enough," Naruto said in a rush looking at the ground in embarrassment.

Kakashi studied the red faced girl for a moment. He saw the earnestness in her shoulder set and the courage that it took to ask for as much as she did and he was going to use it to his advantage.

"Who attacked the girl?" His voice was hard and demanding.

"I don't…"

"Don't lie to me! If you want me to teach you then the most important thing I need from you is honesty. If I can't trust you then I can't teach you and the same applies to you—if you don't trust me then you can't learn."

"Yakushi Kabuto," Naruto said then watched the reaction in the older man's face; the only reaction that she got however was the irritating eyebrow lifting higher. He remained silent as she shifted back and forth on her feet waiting. "Well, will you teach me or not?"

"Be at this address tomorrow at six," he said pulling a card from his pocket and handing it to the girl, "and bring an escort. I don't want to be accused of molesting a young girl."

"What happened to trust?" she asked puzzled.

"State requirement, not trust." He got into the car and drove away leaving Naruto to study the card he had given her. She felt a huge burden being lifted from her shoulders at the thought that she was going to be learning some new moves that would help her in her defense. She smiled widely before skipping back into the house.

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Naruto's mood was soaring when she joined Shika and Chouji for lunch the next day with Kiba and Gaara in town. She was surprised when the pink haired girl showed up along with a blond girl.

"Hi, Naruto, would you mind if we joined you for lunch?" Sakura asked politely with a hesitant smile. Naruto looked at the rest of her group. Kiba was looking up in interest; Gaara just shrugged and muttered something about it being a free world. Shika was staring at the blond with a slightly pink expression that showed his interest and Chouji just nodded while munching on his favorite snack.

"Sure," Naruto said and scooted closed to Kiba to let them have some room to settle down on the grass.

"This is Ino by the way, Yamanaka Ino," Sakura introduced as she looked around at the group with shining eyes.

"Ah, nice to meet you, Ino" Naruto said with a polite smile then she introduced the rest of the group. "This is Akamichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, Sabaku Gaara, and Inuzuka Kiba." Except for Gaara who just nodded, they raised a hand as they were address and the girls smiled back. "This is Sakura, Kabuto's newest victim." Sakura's cheeks went red at the explanation.

"Ah," Gaara muttered.

"Really? You were there when Naruto kicked the guy's ass?" Kiba spoke up. "I wish I had been there." He gave me a wry smile at the thought of a girl kicking another guy's ass.

"It was awesome the way she came flying out of nowhere and knocked him down!" Sakura gushed with a wide smile. "I've never seen any thing like it. I don't know what I would have done if Naruto hadn't been there."

"So, Sakura, Ino, what classes do you have next?" Naruto asked trying to get the subject off herself and back into a less embarrassing one.

They were instantly distracted and Naruto spent the rest of her lunch learning about the two girls. They loved shopping, and bickered like an old married couple lapsing into name calling occasionally with billboard brow and Ino-pig being the favorite names. Ino loved flowers and was going to be a botanist; Sakura was big into anatomy and wanted to be a doctor someday.

"Hey, Sakura, I'm going to be going to a martial arts class later tonight, would you like to go with me, and Ino can come too?" I asked as the bell rang to signal that lunch was over.

"Oh, I…I would love to," she said, "Ino?"

Ino nodded with a wide smile, "I've never been to one, it would be interesting and maybe we can pick up a few tip to help us with self-defense!"

That seemed to settle it for both girls as the waved and left Naruto to be walked back to her class by Shikamaru.

"Man, what a drag, Naruto," he stated with a roll of his eyes.

"How so?"

"More martial arts? I would think that you would know enough about them to run your own do-jo." Shika's tendency to be lazy was going full blaze as he tucked his hands in his pockets and slowly walked with Naruto forcing her to keep her steps to a minimum.

"Well, it doesn't seem enough now does it if I can't keep Kabuto from knocking my head into the ground," she responded her good mood evaporating at the thought of yesterday.

Her head still ached from the treatment and Tsunade had been insistent that she stay at home and rest. She had told Naruto to let her body recover from the ordeal, but Naruto couldn't stand that thought and had been adamant that she was going to school whether Tsunade liked it or not. Then Tsunade had insisted that Naruto take a pain pill which Naruto had rolled her eyes at and said she didn't need it. She could see the vein sticking out on Tsunade's forehead but the woman knew she had lost the battle if not the war. Naruto had happily slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out the door with a small smile in the woman's direction.

"So who is going to be teaching you?"

Drawn back into the present, Naruto smirked a little. "Hatake Kakashi.'

"Kakashi! How in the name of sweet Christ did you manage to talk him into training you?" Shika asked in a voice raised with surprise.

"I asked him and he sort of agreed for the price of Kabuto's name," Naruto muttered darkly.

"Hmm…sound like it's going to be troublesome," Shika muttered when they reached her class. "Who's going to see you to the next class?"

"You know that I can get from one class to the next without being attacked," Naruto said sarcastically. "Gaara is," she finally muttered as Shika refused to be budged until he told him. He nodded in triumph before turning away. "I think I'll join you and the girls tonight," he spoke over his shoulder with a lazy wave of his hand.

Naruto wanted to throw something at his head but didn't have anything immediately on hand so she settled for sticking her tongue out at him.

"Childish," a voice that irritated Naruto more than anything in the world spoke just behind her. She spun to face Sasuke's sardonic look holding a snarling demon in check at his posture. He leaned against the wall with his hands tucked into his pockets much like Shika did but he raised an eyebrow at her with a aggravating smirk.

"Get lost, bastard," Naruto growled as she swept past him into the classroom and nearly tripped over a chair that someone had moved into her path. She felt a hand on her arm catching her before she tumbled over the obstacle and planted her face into the carpeted floor. She jerked her arm from his hand. "Thank you," she muttered darkly over her shoulder.

"Hn." Naruto took the sound for a 'you're welcome' but it really wasn't a reply at all. She stepped around the suicide chair and scanned the rest of her path to make sure that it was clear of other murderous objects then stomped her way to the desk at the back of the class room. She tried to ignore the fact that Sasuke trailed after her and took the seat next to her.

"What's this I hear about you being trained by Kakashi?" he asked as Naruto riffled through her bag for a pen and her notebook.

Naruto looked up at him in surprise. "Who said that?"

"Kiba was saying that you invited the girl from yesterday to go with you."

"Yeah, I did."

"I think that I'll come too."

"What? Why?"

He shrugged then turned away from her to listen to the teacher as she began her lecture.

"Well, you can't," Naruto hissed at him then received the glare of death from the woman for interrupting. She smiled an apology letting the woman continue.

"I am," Sasuke said quietly so as not to disrupt the class again. His tone said that it was the end of the discussion. Naruto threw him a deadly look but remained silent.

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"I said bring an escort," Kakashi said as he looked over the group, "not the entire student body of your school."

"Very funny, and I didn't invite anyone but Sakura and Ino. The rest invited themselves."

Kiba, Gaara, Shika, Sasuke, Chouji, Sakura, and Ino were lined up behind her as she entered the building five minutes before six. She was wearing her favorite work out pants in bright orange and a black t-shirt. She had brought an orange jacket with her just in case it was cold when the training was over.

"Well, they aren't just going to stand around and watch," the silver haired man said eyeing each one. He then smiled, thought it was only his eye as the rest of his face was covered in a black mask. He was also wearing a sleeveless black jumpsuit that showed a swirled tattoo on his upper arm. "Well, I wasn't expecting so many people to show up but this might work to our advantage." Naruto learned that the smile was something that she was going to have to watch out for because it was meant that she was going to suffer.

Kakashi didn't show them any moves instead he took them out to the back of the building where a large log was. They ended up carrying the log around the huge lot at a steady jog and if anyone slacked off then the rest of the group suffered. Naruto just knew that all of them were going to be sore tomorrow and they wouldn't be coming back with her. Once Kakashi was satisfied that they had carried the log enough he then made then hoist the stupid thing over there heads where they dead lifted it from shoulder to shoulder to work their upper bodies.

Being the shortest, Naruto was behind everyone else with Ino and Sakura in front of her then Gaara, Kiba, Sasuke, Shika, and Chouji in front. Chouji was struggling as was Kiba but Ino and Sakura were surprisingly holding their own with the rest of the boys.

Again they continued with the exercise until Kakashi thought that they had enough, then the real torture began. They had to throw the thing back and forth, four on each side. Not only did the log have the weight of a small elephant but it was rough and scraped roughly against the tender skin of their arms as they had to catch it.

Naruto caught a glimpse of Kakashi leaning against a tree reading one of Jiraiya's books really not paying much attention to the group as they tossed the log. She wanted to scream at him to teach them something more useful but knew that it was useless. She was beginning to think that he was doing this not to train her but to teach her a lesson, though for the life of her she couldn't figure out what.

By the time an hour was over all eight of them were exhausted, bruised, scraped, and barely able to walk. Ino and Sakura were leaning on each other to stay upright. Chouji was leaning against a wall, face flushed with exertion. Shika was lying on his back on the ground with Kiba collapsed next to him. The only ones who didn't look tired by the workout were Gaara and Sasuke, but Naruto knew that it was only for show because both boys' faces were just as read as Chouji's. Gaara stood with his arms folded across his chest, his t-shirt soaked with sweat. Sasuke leaned a little against the wall his face carved into a stoic mask.

"Alright, Naruto, I will see you tomorrow with whoever shows up," Kakashi said with another eye smile before waving at them and disappearing out the front door of the building.

"Good god, that man was trying to kill us," Sakura muttered as she and Ino moved up to Naruto. "We'll see you tomorrow, Naruto."

"Come on, Chouji, let's get going. I think my mom is making BBQ so you should come to my house," Shika said as he gained his feet. "Bye guys. This had been very troublesome."

"Bye, Shika," Naruto said and watched the two friends until they went out the door.

"Let's get moving too," Kiba groaned as he stood also, "I could use a bite to eat too. We can stop at the pizza parlor and make Naruto buy us a pizza for allowing us to come here tonight."

The others agreed and they stumbled out the door and down the darkening streets.

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**A/N Yeah! Another update!!!! Excited anyone!!! I was. Well, I hope that you liked it, if not Kakashi is going to drop that log on your head. NANANANA. Please leave me a review! The more reviews the faster I will update, because the next chapter is already written but I won't post until I have TEN reviews!!! MWAHAHAHAHA. **

**Disclaimer: I own a two cats, two guinea pigs, and a fish, but no Naruto's. One of the cats is named Tobi. *sigh* I would rather snuggle up to Kakashi than Tobi. ;)**

**ZEN  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Aww, I wasn't going to update again until I had ten reviews, but I only got five and this chapter is for them so don't read it unless you reviewed!**

**JK go read it whatever**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto though I do own the computer that I wrote this on.  
**

"Alright, ladies, let's pick up the pace," Mitarashi Anko yelled out. She was their gym teacher and was not known for her kindness. In fact it was the general consensus of the whole class that she got a hard on from torturing them.

Naruto quickened her pace and groaned as her sore calves protested. She refused to let the noise pass her lips and ran around the track.

_Only four more laps,_ she though to herself but briefly closed her eyes on the impossible mission that was before her. _Okay, don't concentrate on what's left just concentrate on taking the next step and the next and the next._ The words became a litany in her mind as she pushed her throbbing, rubbery legs into moving forward.

Concentrating on the chant in her head she barely noticed the auburn headed girl moving up next to her. She barely spared the girl a glance until a hard elbow slammed into her face. Her nose erupted into agony as she stumbled to the side and went down. Her attacker came to crouch next to her as if to see what had happened but she bent to Naruto's ear.

"Kabuto says that he owes you one and will make you pay for it," she hissed so that no one else could hear.

"Hey, now, what the fuck happened?" Anko yelled as she came up to see why the rest of the class had suddenly quit running.

"I don't know," her attacker said getting to her feet, "one minute she was running and the next she grabbed her face." The wide eyed innocent tone made Naruto want to snarl, which she did getting to her feet and facing the other girl. She dived at the girl only to come up short as Anko stepped between them.

"Hold it," she snapped at Naruto holding her arms out. She turned to face the other only to find the girl gone, snarling she rounded on Naruto again, "What is the meaning of this?"

Naruto clenched her teeth together, with a brief thought that she was going to wear her teeth down to the nub if she didn't learn a new way to keep her mouth shut. "Nothing apparently," she said stepping back from the woman.

"Your nose is swelling, go see the nurse," Anko said in a calmer voice then she barked to the rest of the class, "Get moving or I will add another five laps, this isn't nap time you fricken babies." They turned and immediately broke into a fast sprint to get away from the bitch from hell.

Naruto started to cross the field only to stop when Anko called out so that only she could hear, "Whatever your involved in, Naruto, get it worked out I don't want anymore incidents like the one today in my class."

"As if I'm the one to blame," Naruto mumbled then flinched when the woman appeared next to her.

"What did you say?" she hissed as her arm came around Naruto's neck from behind.

"Absoluetly nothing," Naruto hissed back.

"Good then let's keep it that way," she let go of Naruto.

Naruto walked as quickly from the field as possible without breaking into a run. She definitely wasn't going to let that woman know that she had scared the fox out of Naruto. Once in the hallway Naruto glanced at her watch. It was an hour before lunch and everyone was still in class which gave Naruto a devious, utterly evil plan. She smiled as she skipped in the opposite direction than the nurses office.

She left the school and entered the parking lot. She looked around the small lot at the various cars of all ages, makes, and models until she spotted the one that she wanted. Marking the place she went back into the building in search of an empty classroom which she found on her third door. She entered, went immediately to the teachers desk and searched until she came to a small first aid kit. She rummaged through it until she found the items that she was looking for them bounced out of the classroom.

She surprised herself at how easily she evaded the hall monitors and was on the other end of the school in no time once there she entered the deserted chemistry class. She quickly pulled out the hotplate and a sauce pan. Finding the stash of potassium nitrate and sugar she quickly set to work mixing the two together, as it heated up into the consistency of thick peanut butter she found some aluminum foil. Before the mix could cool down she shaped several spoonfuls into little balls. She pulled a lighter that she had grabbed from the teacher desk then dropped the little balls along with the lighter in the sack along with a quickly jotted note. Smiling evilly she left the sack where she knew that someone would be along quickly and darted back the way she had come dodging the monitors.

She watched for the signs that her little present had been found and when she saw the rising smoke coming from the other side of the building she nearly laughed. She heard a commotion as everyone found out that there was smoke coming from the boy's bathroom down the hall. Several teachers darted from their classrooms and down the hall followed by the rest of the student body because they wanted to know what was going on too.

Seizing her opportunity she pulled on the medical gloves that she had taken from the kit and slipping out the door and across the parking lot to the black 2009 Chevy Pickup that was Kabuto's baby. She was inside the truck an instant later.

_Hmm? If I were Kabuto where would I put the keys?_ Knowing that he wasn't very bright and he liked certain movies. Naruto pulled the visor down and let the keys slid into her hand. She quickly searched the glove box also and came up with a small brown wallet which held three hundred dollars in cash and a credit card signed to Daddy. A very devious smile came to her as she pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed the pizza place that she had taken the guys to.

"Pietro's Pizza, how may I help you?"

"Yes, this is Mr. Yakushi's secretary and I was wondering how long it would take you to deliver a hundred pizza's to Elm Wood High School?"

"A hundred?" the boy's voice went up on the last word nearly breaking on a screech.

"Yes, a hundred. Now there isn't a lot of time before the classes break for lunch and I would like them to be there in time. Can you make this happen?"

"Um, y-y-yes," the boy said.

"Good, make sure that you let them know that it was from Yakushi's son, Kabuto. It's a treat for the Senior class!"

"Yes, ma'am," the boy said. "What kind of pizza?"

"Well, you had better make it a mixture of pepperoni, Hawaiian, supreme and veggie lovers."

"Yes, ma'am. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, can you run the card over the phone?"

"Yes," the boy said.

Naruto gave him the information including the house address from the ID that she found in the wallet. Grinning she slipped everything back into place but took the keys with her as she left the truck.

She discarded everything along the way dropping the keys into the trash bin closest to the nurse's office as she went in.

Half an hour later, Naruto was emerging from the nurse's office when she heard the intercom.

"All Seniors report to room 103, please. All Seniors report to room 103, please," the disembodied voice of the schools secretary echoed down the hallway.

She began to make her way there when she spotted Shikamaru and Chouji coming out of their class. She hurried and caught up with them.

"Man, what a drag," Shika muttered looking at the ceiling. "Wonder what they want? It's lunch time." Then he got a look at Naruto's face. "What the hell happened to you?"

"A present from Kabuto," she muttered touching the swollen, painful appendage gently.

Naruto repressed the smiled and followed the two down the corridors until they ended up at room 103. They went in and found that the room was packed with people. On the desk in front of them were pizza boxes and three teachers as well as the principal, Umino Iruka. The three teachers were Yuhi Kurenai, Yamato Tenzo, and Morino Ibiki; the last one being the most frightening because everyone knew that he was from the CIA or something and could get even the most hardened criminal to talk.

Principal Iruka stepped forward once everyone was in the room. Since there weren't enough desks for everyone they lined up around the outer walls two and three deep. Naruto found herself being shoved into a tight knot consisting of Gaara, Sasuke, and Shika. Her side was pressed tightly against Sasuke who smirked at her but didn't budge over to give her room.

"Okay, everyone settle down. Now, I have a few things to say. Someone called Pietro's Pizza nearly an hour ago and ordered one hundred pizzas using the Yakushi name and credit card to pay for the pizzas. Now I am going to ask you once, that the person who did this please step forward." Iruka's voice was reasonable, encouraging, and firm.

Everyone looked around at everyone else expecting someone to admit to the crime. No one stepped forward and the whispering started as everyone speculated on who would do it or who could do it. Naruto remained silent waiting for the meeting to be adjourned.

"Alright! Enough, quiet!" Iruka said. "For the rest of the afternoon you will be meeting with one of these teachers and going over your day, every step of it! I will divide you into groups, you will be questioned, and then you will go to the next class room. I will be waiting for you and anyone thinking of sneaking out will immediately be getting detention for the next month!"

"Hey, what about the pizza? Are you just going to let it go to waste?" Someone cried from the back of the room. "Besides, man, it's lunch time."

Iruka looked at the other teachers who nodded. "We will let you have the pizza but just know that who ever did this committed a crime."

The students nodded in acceptance and the pizza was handed out. Naruto skipped the pizza with the slightly guilty feeling for causing everyone the trouble that she did.

The students were divided into groups according to their last names so that Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke were in the same group to be questioned by none other than Ibiki. Naruto nearly groaned, knowing that she was going to be caught at any time.

Three by three, the students were taken off to talk with the teachers and the numbers in the class room slowly dwindles. Naruto felt a sigh when Sasuke was called in before her. Shikamaru was still waiting with her and but Chouji and Gaara had already had their turns. Then Shika left leaving her alone and she began to get nervous. Ino popped over to stand by her.

"I wonder who did it," Ino asked as she leaned back against the wall.

Naruto sighed and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Ino followed her down.

"I did," Naruto admitted to the girl. Her light blue eyes widened in surprise. "Kabuto sent one of his 'friends' to deliver a message," she waved at her nose, "and I got it into my head that I would make him pay for it."

Ino began to smile brightly. "Naruto, you're absolutely priceless!" She chuckled to herself then straightened pretty fast when her name was called by Kurenai. She looked over at Naruto before standing. "Don't worry about it."

Naruto tucked her head into her knees and waited. Either Ino was going to tell on her, or she was going to end up confessing to the whole thing and this time wind up in JD because she couldn't lie to save the world. She tilted her head to the side and looked at the clock. An hour before school was over. And less time than that until her life was over. She heard a commotion at the front of the class as Kurenai came out of the room and began whispering to Iruka.

_Yep, her life had just ended,_ Naruto thought as she began getting to her feet.

But they didn't turn to her, they left and seconds later they were back with Tenzo and Ibiki. They seemed to be having an argument with each other and Ibiki kept shaking his head. Then he shrugged and they went back into the room where Ino was.

"Okay, everyone please go back to your regular classes," Iruka said as he stepped back into the room. That was when Naruto realized what had happened and her mouth dropped open. She waited until the class room was empty then approached the principal. He looked at her expectantly as she hesitated.

"Principal Iruka,' Naruto began but was interrupted as Ino came out of the room followed by Kurenai and Tenzo. They were frowning as they followed the blond. Ino saw Naruto and smiled brightly at her.

"It was the least I could do for helping Sakura out the other day, Naruto," the girl said then threw her a warning look.

"No...I did…" Naruto shook her head but was interrupted by Ino.

"You did save her life and she's my best friend so I felt obligated to help. So Shut Up About IT Already!" Ino glared at Naruto before she huffed out of the room.

Iruka had been looking back and forth between the two girls as if he was watching a tennis match. Once Ino was out of the room he looked at Naruto. "She confessed, said that she hasn't done much to help so now it was her turn." He frowned at Naruto seeing the swollen nose. "Where did you get that?" he asked.

"Gym, it was a rough day," Naruto muttered. "Tripped over someone's elbow." She didn't know how to feel about what had just happened so she quietly left the room.

"Naruto!" Naruto turned as she exited the class room and saw Sakura waving to her. The cherry blossom ran up to her and whispered into her ear. "I heard what happened, and don't think for a minute that you're going to go into confession mode. Ino knows what she's doing and Shikamaru explained to me that if you get into any more trouble then the state is going to ship you off to JD. Ino and I aren't about to let that happen!"

Naruto looked in surprise to Sakura. How had she inspired such loyalty? These two girls didn't know her, they hadn't been friends. Why were they doing this for her?

"Naruto, you saved my life the other day," Sakura said seriously, her emerald eyes determined, "I can't repay you enough for risking your life to save mine, but I will do what I can and so will Ino. We've been friends since preschool and we've always stuck by each other no matter what. And I feel the same towards you now so you're going to have to deal."

Naruto was speechless as she listened to this girl's speech. She wanted to shake her head and deny what Sakura was saying but for the life of her she also wanted to cry because the words meant more that just friendship.

"How troublesome," Shika exclaimed as he came up beside them. Gaara, Kiba, Chouji, and Sasuke falling into step with him.

"Looks like you've made a couple of new friends," Kiba said with a roll of his eyes. Chouji nodded then tossed Naruto an apple.

"You didn't eat any of the pizza," he said.

"Thanks, Chouji," Naruto grinned. "Ino's in deep trouble though and I can't let her take the blame."

"Ino knows exactly what she's doing, and besides her parent can afford to pay back the amount those pizza's cost. She isn't in that big of trouble anyway since it's her first time. She'll probably get a lecture about how what she did was fraud, and a black mark on her record but she already knew that when she made her decision. You will not let her sacrifice go for nothing, so live with the guilt," Sakura declared stridently. "Cause if you don't Ino won't forgive you and neither will I."

"Okay, okay, if you're sure that she's okay with this," Naruto said holding up her hand in surrender.

"She is," Sakura assured her. "And you'll see tonight when we meet to go to Kakashi's for more torture."

"Really?! You'll still come with me, even though his going to be putting us through another night of hell?"

"Yep." "Of course." "Shit!" "Bring it on!" "Hn." And a nod from Gaara.

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**A/N I'd ask you to reveiw but I know that most of you won't, Well, I love hearing from my loyal reviewers so you guys review. Hmm...I'm feeling a little bitchy so sorry. I hope you all liked it, if you don't want to review you can alway just drop me a note (PM or send me a message). I enjoy writing and reading fan fictions but I have to go now and write another chapter on something so good night!**

**ZEN  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Is it tomorrow yet? Yep looks like since its now 1:00 in the morning!!! and no, I didn't stay up all night writing this if that's what you're thinking. **This is for my Six reviewers!!! and shame on the rest of you for leaving me wondering who I was doing. Well, I hope you enjoy the spoils that you don't deserve! HAHA, don't run away go ahead and read. Sam--you are awesome as always, and thanks for making me feel better (I tried to be evil really I did but I'm just not good at it!), mimichan--you're such a good fan and you're sincerely welcome, sessholove4lyf--Thanks bunches!!! and I loved writing about the 100 pizzas, FirieGurl--Thank you, Thank you, and I hope this is soon enough, trsofnaruto--nope she didn't but I will keep it in mind and tell Naruto about it next time the opportunity arises!, Ichigo Lunette--WELCOME!!! and thank you soo much for the review and I will ponder the points you have presented so thank you!

Now on with the really reason that you came.

**Disclaimer--I don't do this to every chapter but I will now...I do own Naruto and I have given him to Itooshii since she has been with me since forever ago!!! O.O ...*ow* sorry sorry, I lied I don't own Naruto!!!! don't hit me any more!!! *hides***

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Naruto stood before the nurse's station as the nurse checked the room number for her. The floor was busy with people rushing from one place to the next, some walking in groups; others a little more slowly while pushing IV poles around. She tapped her foot impatiently while scowling at the dark haired nurse who was typing on the computer, a frown of concentration marring her brow. Naruto felt like jumping over the desk and doing it herself but refrained from the spectacle she would create but just barely. She settled for rolling her eyes.

"Um, he's in room 306 but he isn't receiving visitors today," the nurse, her badge read Maggie, said. Maggie looked up in sympathy to the blond girl in front of her.

"Why not?" Naruto demanded it had only been a week since she had seen the boy and he had looked fine except for being pale and hooked up to an IV. She began to worry, and knew if she didn't find out for herself she was going go into full blown panic mode soon.

"I'm sorry, miss, but that information is only to be given to family members." Again the look of sympathy. Naruto ground her teeth together and pushed away from the desk trying to think of how to reach her goal.

"Thank you," Naruto growled before turning and making her way up the hall. She knew that she had passed a map somewhere that would show her the general direction that she needed to go. Her shadow was following her which only made her mood worse.

Sasuke watched as Naruto nearly loped up the hallway back the way they had came, he kept pace with her easily but kept his face straight because he was realizing a few thing from just hanging with her this past week. Not that he would admit to it, because Uchiha's didn't do that.

He could see the worry in her eyes as she scanned the walls, he pointed to the right and Naruto slid to a halt before the large picture showing the layout of the building. She placed a hand on the little square in the middle of the children's ward and one where a red x exclaimed that 'You Are Here'. He could tell that she was memorizing the direction to where the little boy who had shown her the way out of the hospital was. He had just learned his name a few minutes ago. Sarutobi Konohamaru.

He had kept his peace for most of the trip here simply for the fact that Gaara had threatened to bury him in some distant desert if he didn't act respectfully towards Naruto. For some reason Gaara had grown over protective of Naruto, something that was very off character of the silent and unfriendly guy. Gaara didn't trust anyone easily but he had immediately been taken in by this girl. Even Kiba spent more time with her than he did with Sasuke, not that Sasuke was complaining about the drooling flea bag being absent. Rees and Tatsuo had been going to her for advice and to help her with the redecorating of her room, something that the older boys had found excuses to hide from.

Frowning, Sasuke leaned against the wall while Naruto mumbled under her breath then turned, ignoring his presence, to head back up the hallway this time with a more determined course set for her. At the junction where the nurse's station was she paused then slipped behind a gurney trying her best to hide from the eyes of the nurse that Sasuke was sure had forgotten them in the past few minutes. He just walked right past and motioned Naruto to follow him, his hands tucked into his pocket. Naruto scowled then caught up.

"Teme." He heard the word whispered lowly but chose to ignore it and only rolled his eyes.

She was scanning the room numbers and they stopped before the correct door. Naruto peeked through the narrow glass window and saw a small figure lying on the bed. She drew in a deep breath before pushing the door open.

"Naruto!" the boy said from his bed. His eyes shone with excitement even though he was thinner than before and his eyes were sunken. Naruto flew to the bed and grabbed his hand.

"Konohamaru, are you alright?" she asked as his weak fingers began to soak up the warmth in hers.

"Yeah, the leukemia flared up again and I have to go through another round of Chemo," he grinned at her before looking at the guy that had entered just behind Naruto.

"This is Sasuke but you can just ignore him. He's only here because Jiraiya, my guardian, insisted," she sneered back at Sasuke before turning her attention back to the kid. "Hey, I have something!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bag of assorted jelly beans.

"What are those?" Konohamaru asked. He'd been in and out of the hospital so much that he didn't remember seeing the small items that Naruto held in her hand. They were so colorful and different.

"Jelly Bellies!" Naruto exclaimed as she pulled up the serving table and placed a handful on it. He picked one up and popped it into his mouth, immediately his eyes widened at the flavor that burst into his mouth. Naruto grinned at the look. "That was Root Beer. Here this one is cherry," she said pointing to a red one.

They ate their way through the whole bag with Naruto telling him each flavor. He really liked the Root Beer, Watermelon, and Strawberry Daiquiri ones but disliked the black ones.

"Ew," he said after tasting the black one grabbing the cup of water that Naruto had poured for him to rinse the taste out of his mouth but it wouldn't go away so he grabbed a few of the other colors and stuffed them into his mouth. Finally the taste was gone.

"Don't blame you there, I hate the black ones too," Naruto said, "but you have to try things at least once." She snickered at the dark look the boy gave her, he was looking better than he had when they first came in.

A white hand shot past her shoulder and plucked a black jelly bean from the table. She glanced back to see that Sasuke was standing right behind her. He tossed the jelly bean into his mouth and chewed slowly.

"Hn. I don't know I think that I like the black ones, they have a unique flavor," he said as he fished the rest of the black jelly beans out of the pile before the boy.

"Well, you can have then," Konohamaru said as he searched for a new flavor to try.

Naruto stared up at him watching as his mouth moved, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn't seem to tear her gaze away from the lips that moved with his jaw, her mouth suddenly dry. His tongue darted out to lick the bottom lips leaving a shining trail that her eyes seemed to be glued to and she swallowed.

"What's your favorite flavor, Naruto?" Konohamaru asked breaking the trance that she seemed to be in.

She jerked her head around gathering her resolve around her and looked up at the boy on the bed. "I like buttered popcorn. I had it a while ago and for some reason I just have to have it."

"Which on is that?"

"The white one with yellow spots."

The boy fished one of those out and tried it, "Not too bad, but I still like Root Beer the best. What about you, Sasuke?"

"Hn? I like cotton candy." Sasuke looked down at Naruto a small smirk trying to find its way to his lips but he suppressed it. He had seen her looking at his mouth and he hadn't been able to resist taunting her, the blush that he was sure she didn't even know she had stained her cheeks.

He leaned against the wall but straightened when the boy held out his closed fist. Sasuke stepped forward and held his hand out. The boy dropped several pink jelly beans into his hand.

"There you can have all my cotton candy ones."

"Thank you," Sasuke said softly looking up at the boy with a kind smile before eating one.

They jerked around guiltily as the door of the room suddenly opened and a tall dark haired man walked in. He sported a well trimmed beard without a mustache and a bandana tied around his head. He was chewing on a tooth pick and was looking at Naruto and Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.

"Uncle Asuma!" Konohamaru exclaimed and the man raised his gaze to smile at his nephew.

"Who are these folks?" he asked as he moved lazily forward tucking his hands into his pockets.

"This is Naruto, remember I told you about her, and her friend, Sasuke," the boy said in way of introductions.

"Um, I'm sorry, I know that I was told that he wasn't allowed visitors but I had to check on him," Naruto stated as she stood.

"Oh, really?" Asuma said then studied his nephew. He smiled. "I guess they didn't realize that you are family, so I'll have to tell them."

Naruto eyes widened as she stared up at the tall man. He laughed.

"I haven't seen Konohamaru so animated, except for that time when he came back all excited because he had helped a girl escape the deadly hospital." He held out a hand. "I'm Sarutobi Asuma and your welcome to visit him anytime."

Naruto shook his hand with her own grin. "This is Sasuke Uchiha, but I don't know if he'll be with me the next time I come. My escorts seem to change daily, weekly, hourly."

Asuma raise another eyebrow at that so Naruto hurried to explain.

"My guardian at the moment seems to think that I can't take care of myself so he sends my foster brothers with me as escorts."

"Well, who ever comes with you is welcome. Hey are those Jelly Bellies? I love the cappuccino flavored ones." He moved up to the bed and began search through the scattered beans for the right flavor.

"Well, Konohamaru, I've got to run but I will be back in a couple of days, okay?" Naruto said as she looked at her watch to see the time.

"Great!" the boy said as Naruto came up beside him and took his hand again. She squeezed it then leaned down and brushed her lips across his forehead.

"Get well," she murmured to the now red faced youth.

"I-I will!"

Sasuke gave the boy a wave before leaving the room with her. She walked with her head down and not saying anything. Her hand stuffed deep into the orange jacket she wore to combat the chilly wind that was outside.

"He's going to be fine," Sasuke reassured her. "He's a fighter."

Naruto remained quiet but nodded.

"We'd better hurry or Kakashi is going to make us do extra laps today if we're late," Sasuke said trying to get her mind off the boy's situation. He didn't like seeing the silent Naruto whose shoulders were drooping and whose steps weren't the bouncy energetic ones he was used to.

Naruto's head came up as she looked at him. "Thank you, Sasuke, for coming with me," she said her lips curving into a small smile that was still sad but with a bit more of the old Naruto in it.

"Hn," Sasuke said, startled by the look, watched as she grinned, tapped his shoulder, and raced off up the street.

"You're it," she called over her shoulder.

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**A/N *peeks out from hiding place* Is it safe? Phew! I though I was dead there for a minute! I hope that you enjoyed our evening with the stars...Oh, this isn't the right show...Right, Right...Hmm....Let's see *shuffles papers* Oh! here we are!!!! I hope that you enjoyed reading this next part of the story, and the fan club wishes that you leave a review, or a PM, or ANYTHING SO THAT SHE KNOWS THAT YOU LIKE THE STORY!!! Sorry, Sorry! Um...I just had an mental break down there but anyways...Leave a review or not, but the world may end if you don't and to prevent that from happening you may want to just jot down a few words like It was So Totally AWesome and you're the best writer ever....*ow, don't hit me Sam,...Yes, I know, I know, don't pressure the fans ....okay, I'll get to it) Thank you everyone for reading and I will update soon...**

ZEN--your ever faithful writer who has mental stability problems and will not pressure the fans to review...O.O


	11. Chapter 11

Ha! I'm back with a new update. If there are any errors in content that just doesn't match the previous chapters please let me know. Oh and I must apologize to my reader for my lack of...Um...tack? My mental health had been checked an I am back on medication. But I must say I got a record number of reveiws, EIGHT!!! Thank you must go to: **mimichan88--**thank you so much and maybe not this chapter, maybe not the next but perhaps soon; **sessholove4lyf--**such demands, But I DID!!! so there lol; **YaoiYuriLover--**are you behind me now? O.O *looks* nope no one there. Phew, you scared me. O.O XD; **FirieGurl--**AWW thanks, and I don't know if Konohamaru is going to be okay or not, we'll just have to wait and see; **Itooshii--**My Most Favoritest Peoples, thank you the cookie was good! mmm, chocolate. soo many questions and I can't give you any hints, because I don't know yet. I do know where I want to go but its going to take some time still and as for SasuNaru fluffiness--mwahahaha! *rubs hands together* everything is going as planned!; **Soul-Searcher16--** Thank you so much! and Naruto would never forget someone who helped her out; **Ichigo Lunette--**Thanks, and we all wish Konohamaru was around...I hate hospitals! Stupid doctors have to poke and prod things that already hurt :( Loved the Review!; **Kit the Fiendish Fire Cat--**Thanks so much for both glowing reviews!

Now on to the reason that you came out today!

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto...*cries and comes up with fiendish plan ....Writes* Kishimoto if you wish to see your favorite pen again, you will give me Naruto and Sasuke. MWAHAHAHA!!!! .**

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"Their coming!!!" The shout brought Naruto out of a deep slept and startled her enough that she tumbled out of bed. She was barely able to get her hands under her before her face smashed into the new red carpet that now graced her floor. Grumbling she picked herself up and dropped back onto the bed.

Looking around the room with lazy care she took note of how good it looked. The red walls were trimmed and accented with black, giving it an oriental flavor. Tsunade had given her a black lacquered night stand that had cute little foxes running around on it. Jiraiya had refinished the desk so that it matched the nightstands and they had even bought her a new bed that was a four poster with high black metal posts. The posts were draped with thin red netting that gave it a feminine air that Naruto really didn't mind compliments of Tsunade. Naruto had taken care of the rest by rummaging around the flee markets and pawn shops finding little things like the black metal dragon that took up one whole wall. She'd had to get Shika to borrow his dad's truck to get it home. There was also the lamp that she had found in a pawn shop that she had brought home and spent a day reworking the wiring and painting it black, and then she had found the lamp shade in a downtown flea market that was domed and red with a black tasseled fringe hanging down. Finally the whole room was finished and she was quite happy with the way everything had turned out.

She sighed before dressing in her normal black jeans but she pulled on a black button up blouse. She tied her hair up into pigtails with orange ribbons (her one concession to being a girl) and pulled on black commando boots that she had found in a rummage bin somewhere.

Today was the day before Easter Sunday and Tsunade had informed Naruto last night that Gaara's brother and sister along with another foster son and his friend were coming to stay for the weekend. It seemed that any holiday or school break the foster kids would return because they were part of the family.

A tapping on her door brought her out of her thoughts and she made her way through the fall of discarded clothing and books to the portal to find Tatsuo's excited face nearly bouncing in place as he grinned at her.

"They're coming today!" he shouted then ran off to inform someone else. Naruto blinked at the blur then looked up to meet obsidian eyes. She smiled at Sasuke but he walked by without even a good morning.

"Teme," she muttered as she closed her door again.

Sasuke smirked at the insult but didn't acknowledge the girl in any other way. They seemed to get along better if he just ignored her they way he ignored most of the female populace. He tucked his hand into his pockets and tried not to think about how her eyes sparkled when she looked at the younger two members of the household. He ignored the way her hair would curl up at the ends trying to defy even gravity itself. And most importantly he tried not to think about the way his body reacted to her mere presence in the house. Uchiha's were trained to ignore those things, weren't they?

He made his way down the stairs and to the kitchen where Kiba was lounging on one of the couches eating a toaster pastry with his dog, Akamaru, and watching some basketball game. He didn't even know that they had basketball on this early in the morning. He rolled his eyes and searched the cupboards for the bran muffins that he had seen there just yesterday.

"Kiba, did you see the bran muffins?" he asked when he came up empty.

"Oh, yeah, I gave them to Akamaru, he likes them," Kiba responded without looking up.

Sasuke nearly growled but refused to let an undignified sound to pass from his throat. He settled for wheat toast and a glass of orange juice. He munched on the toast while sitting at the island and reading the newspaper that had been discarded there by someone, probably Tsunade, because he knew that Jiraiya thought it was a bunch of useless crap about people being robbed, shot, etc.

Gaara showed up and settled onto a stool next to him with a bowl of Rice Krispies. Then Naruto walked in, or rather she was like a tornado that had decided to stick around for away to create as much destruction as possible. She poured a bowl of some overly sugared cereal, leaving the box open on the counter, and settled down on to the other couch. She greeted everyone but him with a sunny smile only to scowl at him which amused Kiba greatly.

Peace reigned in the kitchen for all of two second before a shouting match ensued as Naruto yelled at the TV because the referee had made a call against one of the teams. Then Kiba yelled at her that it was a fair call and they argued the logistics of it.

"Shut up, both of you," Gaara stated calmly giving them a withering look. They both subsided because Gaara could be terrifying when he wanted to be. Sasuke was the only one that he didn't seem to intimidate.

"I'm right," Naruto muttered.

Or not. Naruto glared at Gaara's back before turning back to watch the rest of the game with Kiba.

"So when are the guests arriving," Naruto asked.

"They should be here by ten," Kiba answered with a bored voice. "YEAH, did you see that?!" Someone must have scored a shot or whatever.

"Gaara, what are your brother and sister like?" She looked over at the redhead as he put his bowl in the sink.

"Konkuro is…"

"Konkuro is very protective of Gaara," Kiba said interrupting the guy, "and he likes to act tough and tries to manipulate things to go his way."

"I was talking to Gaara." She reached over and smacked him on the back of his head.

"Hey!"

Gaara smirked slightly. "Temari is honest."

Naruto's brow furrowed at the response confused then looked to Kiba to get a better description.

"Temari can be overbearing and isn't afraid to tell you what she thinks," Kiba said without looking up from the TV.

Sasuke watched as she frowned at the information.

"Who's the other guy that's coming?"

"Neji, he's like the scariest person on earth, I swear." Kiba seemed to since when he said the name.

"That's because you kissed his cousin and he beat the crap out of you," Sasuke murmured.

"Hey that was in third grade," Kiba defended. "And besides he was older but he still beat me up."

"Who's his cousin and if he has a cousin then that means that he had a family doesn't it?" Naruto looked even more confused.

"His cousin is Hinata and his family disowned his dad when he married Neji's mom so they don't really acknowledge his existence. The only one that talks to him is Hinata," Sasuke explained.

"Oh, that's horrible, knowing that you have a family out there and that they don't want you," she said looking down at her hands as she thought about it. "That's just not right!"

"You've already met Hinata on that shopping expedition with Tsunade but she's coming over for the picnic," Kiba said and perked up at the idea. He completely missed the killing look that Gaara was now shooting his way, but Naruto caught it and decided that she had better keep an eye on Kiba for the day, or Gaara was going to bury him in the sand.

"Better be careful or Neji will put you in the hospital," Sasuke warned, with a smirk at him.

Kiba deflated instantly and seemed to try and disappear into the cushions of the couch. Naruto laughed at the dog faced boy's look of complete horror causing Sasuke to stare at her for a minute. Gaara nudged him drawing his attention back to the present and he schooled his face into impassiveness before looking at the red head. Gaara's eyes seemed to warn him off, but Sasuke already knew that. He had made sure that Naruto disliked him in the extreme, only putting up with him while they were at home or training with Kakashi. Sasuke glared back at the silver green eyes before picking up his plate and glass and setting them into the sink.

"They're here!" A shout came from the front of the house. Akamaru jumped up at the shout and raced out of the kitchen with a deafening bark. Gaara got up with a sigh and left the kitchen, followed by Kiba. Naruto hung back watching them as they left.

Sasuke watched her for a second before coming to the surprising conclusion that she was nervous about meeting the others. She tucked a hand behind her head before taking a deep breath.

"They aren't going to eat you," Sasuke said.

"Shut up, Teme," she growled but it seemed to have done the job and she walked determinedly out of the kitchen to meet the rest of the family. Sasuke smirked before trailing after her.

Konkuro and Temari had come together. The whole trio was as different from each other as night and day. Konkuro's hair was a light brown and his clothing style was a purple t-shirt with blue jeans. He grinned readily at his little brother and hugged him before her growled at Rees and Tatsuo. He liked to think that he didn't like little kids but that only lasted about ten seconds before he was mauling them in a mock wrestling match. Temari was blond and wore her hair tied back into for short pony tails. Wearing a white summer dress that was dotted with purple spots along the hem, she watched her brother's antics with a roll of her eyes. She greeted Gaara with a long look from head to toe to make sure that he was being well taken care of before handing him two of her suitcases.

"Gaara," she greeted, "help me with these before the crow over there begins to rub off on you." She turned a glare to the man who was rolling around on the ground with two giggling boys.

"Don't be such a party pooper," Konkuro called out as Tatsuo wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him back.

Sasuke stood with Naruto and shook his head over the scene. He was sure that she didn't know that he was standing right next to her otherwise he knew that she would have put some distance between them. Temari turned and caught sight of the two of them. She raised an eyebrow as she strode over to them.

"Who is this, Sasuke," she demanded as she handed him another suitcase.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto, she's the newest addition to the household," Sasuke introduced taking the suitcase. "Naruto this is Gaara's oldest sibling, Temari." He turned away but not before he saw Naruto's raised chin and indifferent expression. It was the same one that she had given them on her first day at the house.

Naruto looked at the older woman, studying her as openly as she was studying Naruto.

"Are you moving in?" Naruto asked seeing Gaara lifting the two cases and carrying them into the house out of the corner of her eye.

"You never know when you'll need something, so I always bring something for every occasion," Temari responded as they sized each other up.

Naruto wasn't going to be the first to drop her gaze, she was an Uzumaki and didn't back down to anyone. Temari must have seen something amusing because she smiled warmly at the girl in front of her. She held out a hand. Naruto blinked and took the offered palm.

"You'll do. Konkuro, get over here and greet the girl that Gaara wrote us about!"

Konkuro loped over to them with one boy hanging around his neck and the other hanging under his arm like a sack of potatoes. "Pleased to meet you, Naruto. Gaara has told us a lot about you," he said as he held out his other hand. He didn't seem to notice the two boys that were squealing in delight at being dragged about.

Naruto grinned at the open friendliness of the two people feeling at ease with the two at once. It was a rare feeling being almost new to her, and she wondered if it was because of Gaara. She had heard the love that he felt for them in his voice when she had asked about them, even thought the answers had been short.

She had begun to relax when the next member arrived, and then she tensed up again. She was always uneasy when she met new people. Most of the time they didn't know how to talk to her, but she was finding out some new things today so she wasn't as stressed about meeting Neji as she had been earlier. One of the things that she learned was that none of them had looked at her with pity shining in their eyes, so that eased some of her tenseness, and another one being that they accepted her as just another part of the family.

Jiraiya was there to meet Neji having gotten Temari and Konkuro settled in the garden with Tsunade. Rees and Tatsuo were equally excited about seeing Neji as they had been with Konkuro and they ran up to the car as soon as the engine turned off. They were shouting and yelling as a tall man emerged. He smiled warmly down at them but they didn't maul him the way they had Konkuro and Naruto soon realized why. He was reserved and quiet like Sasuke was but without the impassive mask. He had a black band wrapped around his forehead restraining his dark hair. His pale lilac eyes took in everything and drew their own conclusions.

He had brought a friend with him, Rock Lee, a boy about the same height as him but with a way more outgoing personality. The guy had his black hair fashioned into a bowl cut and wide bushy eyebrows. He wore a green polo shirt with kaki pants.

Jiraiya propelled Naruto towards the two and introduce her. She tried to smile but faltered when his eyes looked at her. He studied her as if seeing more than her outward appearance and it was completely disarming. She stood ridged as she waited for his inspection to be complete before responding.

"Are you done yet?"

He smiled at her then held out his hand, "Yes, and may I say that you're quite lovely."

Naruto felt a blush heat up her cheeks as she took his hand but he didn't shake it, he pulled it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. She blinked at him unable to think of a come back for his charm.

"Ah youth's gentle serenade," Lee exclaimed as he watched Neji work. Neji straightened and released her hand before glaring at Lee, a look that didn't seem to work on him because the guy held out a thumbs-up with a wide grin that seemed to sparkle.

Naruto wanted to laugh but repressed it not wanting to hurt the guy's feelings. She turned to find that Sasuke stood a couple of feet away scowling at her. She grimaced at him knowing that he was thinking that she had found a new mark to seduce. "Teme," she snarled silently before walking away from him.

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**A/N thank you so much for reading Leave a review if you want to , Leave a review if you don't want to and Akamaru will not pee in your favorite pair of shoes! Hahaha...No, I'm sorry no citrusy goodness yet, but there will be next chapter and if you want it soon you know what to do!!!!! I'm so EVIL! **

**ZEN, the most evilest, most vilest, and always willing to hold the cirtus hostage!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**Warning: Some SasuNaru citrus...you have been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...I just own the ideas that get him/her into trouble. *rubs hands together* Mwahaha. O.O  
**

Naruto stared up at the clear blue sky, watching as the clouds did a slow, floating, dance across the blue expanse.

"Hey, it's a turtle," she said pointing to a wispy puff of white.

Shika, Chouji, and Kiba had helped her pull some of the garden benches together and they were now lying back with their heads towards the center. She could here the argument that was going on across the back yard, but she ignored it as involved in Shika's most favorite pastime as she was.

"Why are we over here watching the clouds instead of hanging with the rest of the group?" Shika asked. His hand was cushioning his head and he looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"I…I don't know, I just don't feel like I'm a part of that," she muttered, feeling the little tendrils of guilt that worked their way into her chest, squeezing as they went.

"That's dumb," he muttered looking back at the sky with and eye roll.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you're you and you always hold yourself apart."

"What do you mean?"

"It's troublesome to explain it."

"Then don't make comments like that!"

"He's saying that you're the only one who feels that way," Chouji spoke up. "You make it so that you are apart. If you made the effort to get to know everyone like you have with Kiba and Gaara then you wouldn't feel like you aren't part of the family."

Naruto silently mulled over what Chouji had said. "Why would I want to join in on an argument that seems pointless?" she asked a minute later.

"Only Temari and Konkuro are arguing," Shika sighed.

Naruto gave him that point as she looked across the yard sideways. Temari and Konkuro were toe to toe and nearly nose to nose, Temari's hands on her hips while Konkuro's seemed to flap like a bird's. She could see why Temari had called him a crow earlier.

"Isn't that just weird? If they're family why do they argue like that?" She asked.

"It's because they are family. Some families like to argue, they enjoy it, or it gives them a high. At least that's what I heard," Chouji explained with a shrug.

"And besides, Gaara is there to make sure that they don't kill each other," Kiba said, nearly startling her, he'd been so quiet.

"That's another thing that's so weird. He's younger than them but they listen to him more than they do Tsunade or Jiraiya," she commented, her brows furrowed as she tried to sort that out. Even as she made that comment she saw Gaara talking to Konkuro calmly and watched as Konkuro nodded then walked away from Temari. Temari smirked at Gaara who glared at her and she composed her face so that she didn't have the triumphant look. Naruto rolled her eyes at the scene.

Lee, Neji, and Sasuke were grouped together on one side of the patio engaged in conversation while Sakura, Ino and Hinata were talking on the other with Tsunade. The girls had immediately hit it off with Hinata and were currently working on making her feel more comfortable in the presence of the large group. Jiraiya had disappeared. Naruto suspected him of having snuck into the house to work on his book.

Sakura kept peeking over at the guys, a small smile playing about her lips. Naruto thought that perhaps the pink haired girl had developed a crush on Neji but as she watched Lee looked up and caught her look. He smiled at her widely showing off his perfect teeth and Sakura blushed prettily before ducking her head back down. Her hand rose to her hair to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as she took another quick look.

Naruto snickered. The laughter dies as she though of something and a frown appeared on her lips.

"Shika, why do Sakura and Ino like me and why was Ino willing to sacrifice herself in order to keep me out of trouble?"

"Troublesome," he muttered then looked at the blond. "Didn't they already explain? You were willing to put you life in danger for Sakura, literally. I doing so you showed them something that not many people would do. You showed them your true nature. It's kind of like when a fireman runs into a burning building for a child, or a police man steps in front of a bullet to save another weaker person. Your courage and bravery gained their trust instantly or at least Sakura's. The only other person that stood up for her was Ino but your doing so showed her that she was a person worth saving. Ino was willing to reserve judgment and after hanging out with you, she liked you instantly. You have an ability to…" He paused as if searching for the right words, "make people want to be better than they are. Your goodness and honesty draw people to you."

Naruto snorted. "Then why do I have a problem with Kabuto, if I make people want to be better?"

"I think that there is something missing inside of him. He's drawn to that goodness but for some reason it makes him angry because he doesn't understand it."

"You two are giving me a headache," Kiba whined his hand dropping down to rub Akamaru's white head. Tobi padded up and jumped up onto Naruto stomach settling in for a nap. It amazed Naruto that the dog and cat got along so well, they'd watched each other closely for the first month but the last two they had paid little attention to the other.

"It's been three months," Naruto said in surprise.

"What? What are you talking about now?" Kiba asked.

"She's talking about the fact that she's been here for three months already," Chouji said as if stating the obvious.

"Well, of course she's been here for three months, but why is she so surprised?"

"Because nothing has happened, well, nothing that could get her kicked out of here."

"Hey, quite talking about me like I'm not here!"

"Then answer my questions instead of letting, Chouji do it!"

"Shut up, Kiba!"

Naruto pulled the water pistol that she had taken from Rees earlier out of her pocket and shot a jet at Kiba.

He sputtered as he sat up.

"Oh, you're going to regret that!"

He lunged at Naruto who rolled of the bench dislodging a very disgruntled cat to the ground. Kiba leaped over the bench but narrowly missed Naruto as she scrambled away and to her feet. She shot another at him before turning and fleeing across the yard, her laughter attracting the attention of the rest of the crowd.

Kiba pursued Naruto dodging the streams of water. Sakura and Ino instantly had their head together and were making plans while Lee jumped to his feet.

"Such a youthful exhibit! I must help!"

Konkuro must have agreed because pretty soon he had a water canon and had doused Kiba. Naruto didn't know where the guns had come from but Tatsuo now was shooting Lee, and Rees got in a lucky shot at Naruto. Kiba tackled Konkuro making him drop the canon which Naruto immediately scooped up and tossed to Sakura who grinned and pursued Lee and Tatsuo.

Pretty soon they had Neji, Ino, Temari, Chouji and Hinata in the game running around like chicken as they ducked away from jets of water.

Naruto currently had her back to a tree as she peeked around it to find a new target. They had divided into teams, boys against the girls. She motioned to Sakura to move in then directed Ino and Hinata to attack the flanks. She and Temari hung back to stop any pursuit.

Neji and Konkuro were the targets and they had taken refuge behind four foot brick wall. Sakura was the distraction while Ino and Hinata got in their shots. It would have worked except Neji noticed his cousin moving up on their left. He took off after her leaving Konkuro to fend off Sakura and Ino as they leaped up from their positions. Sakura got a luck shot off in his face and Ino hit him from behind as he sputtered. They came flying back as he followed only to be doused by Naruto and Temari.

Naruto paused behind a bush and looked to the patio to see Shikamaru, Sasuke, Gaara and Tsunade watching the proceedings. Tsunade was amused with the hole thing while Shika had his head on his arms sleeping, Gaara looked bored but watched Hinata a little too closely as she hid from Neji's fire, and Sasuke looked on with a superior look in his eyes which irritated Naruto to no end. Then a brilliant idea struck her (or one that was so idiotic as to be suicidal came to her).

Someone had found a bag of water balloons and while keeping the girls distract had filled them. There was a pile sitting neatly next to the corner of the house almost hidden by another bush. Naruto had noticed it while she had tried to flee Lee's enthusiastic water canon. She motioned to Temari and Ino who approached cautiously while keeping a look out for enemy fire.

"There are several water balloon sitting pretty in a neat pile, and I just don't think that it's fair for Gaara, Shikamaru, and Sasuke to not participate so I'm going to see if I can't get them involved somehow," she informed them.

Temari grinned in agreement.

"I can't see either one of them becoming involved, Naruto. Gaara would probably kill you in your sleep later, Shika is just too lazy, and Sasuke would probably just glare you to death," Ino commented.

"We'll see," Naruto said with a little evil grin. "But it's your guys' job to keep every one off me while I fetch those little water bombs. Even if they don't join we can do a lot of damage with them sweet little toys."

Ino finally nodded but still looked highly doubtful. They began to take up their positions while Naruto stealthily made her way to the pile. She pulled a little satchel that she had made out of a bandana to hold them and gathered the squishy wads up. She then began to make her way up to the patio unnoticed.

Kiba saw her and frowned as he knew that none of his teammates where near the deck. Then he grinned as he saw who her targets were. He motioned to Konkuro and Lee drawing their attention to the silent blond who had nearly reached her objective.

"Let's help her out," he said getting nods of agreement. And they began getting closer. "Hey, she found our balloons!"

"Who cares, this is going to be good," Konkuro snickered as he positioned himself to draw Gaara's attention from the girl. "I get Gaara."

"Fine, I don't want to die anytime soon, Lee and I will try and draw in Shika, but Naruto's on her own with Sasuke because again I don't want to die," Kiba groused.

"Why do both of us need to take Shikamaru?" Lee asked.

"Because the guy is a fucking genius and it will take us both to keep from being drowned."

"Get ready."

Naruto aimed and threw the first hitting Shika dead center. His head came up and Kiba and Lee moved in. They doused the guy making him dodge for cover. She was shocked to see him pull a canon out from under the table. He obviously knew that she wouldn't be able to stand seeing him not participate so he had prepared. He came up and with precision was able to put a good defense as Lee and Kiba kept him occupied. Naruto wasted little time in firing on Gaara and Sasuke hitting them almost at the same time.

Konkuro closed in on Gaara and Sasuke's head swiveled to glare at her and she hit in with another balloon in the face. He came at her still glaring and promising retribution with his ebony eyes. And he was fast! Her eyes widened before she took of running. She dodged trees and bushes glancing back only once to see that he was catching up quickly. She put on a burst of speed making it to the grove of trees on the far end of the property. She zigzagged around trunks and ducked the branches that slapped her face. Thinking that she had lost him she leaped around another only to slam hard into a warm wall. Hearing a grunt and feeling arms come around her; they went tumbling down a small embankment and coming to rest with the wall on top of her.

Naruto looked up in shock at Sasuke. Her breaths were coming in pants as she tried to regain air into her lungs that had been knocked out of her. She shivered and thought that the breeze must had grown a little cold because she wasn't reacting to the fact that Sasuke was straddling her legs and his chest was pressed against her in an intimate manner.

Sasuke looked down at his prey in triumph. He pulled the gun from her grip and tossed it away while gripping her wrists so that she couldn't use them. She growled as she began to squirm under him trying to dislodge his weight so that she could get away. He smiled down at her then leaned a little more weight into her hips. She stilled instantly as her eyes widened. The movements of her body had caused an adverse reaction in his that she didn't plan on.

"Get off," she muttered holding her hips still so that she didn't rub against him again.

"No," he said as he looked down at her. "I've finally got you where I want you!"

Distantly, Naruto could hear the shouts and squeals as everyone continued the water fight.

"What do you hope to prove?" she asked.

"Hn. Nothing."

"Then move!"

"Hn."

"That isn't even a word!"

He just looked down at her and Naruto noticed that his eyes weren't the cold chips of ice that she had gotten used to these past few months. They now held a warm heat that made her close her mouth and swallow.

Naruto wasn't sure how long they stared at each other but to her it seemed like an eternity before he lowered his head. His lips settled on hers brushing over them with a feather light caress before closing in firmly. His tongue came out and brushed along her bottom lip and Naruto allowed him inside.

She wasn't sure why she was letting him kiss her. At the first touch her thought had flown from her mind and she couldn't put a coherent phrase together to save her life. He licked at her teeth and Naruto's mind when into its defiant stage and she licked back. Their tongues began a duel for supremacy. She rubbed her tongue along his but didn't know that Sasuke would fight dirty.

His hands left her wrists. One captured her jaw and held her still while the other tangled into her damp hair, fisting against the back. This distraction caused her to loose her concentration and he assaulted the inside of her mouth. Her own hand found his neck and fisted into his dark locks to hold him to her.

Sasuke pulled his mouth away even as his clenched hand drew her head back allowing him access to her chin and throat. The vulnerable pulse beat erratically against his tongue and she whimpered at the sensations that were running rampant through her. He licked the pulse point before trailing his tongue up and to the side to nibble on her ear. She shuddered against him and he chuckled at the response. He controlled her movements, restricted them and the high he gained from it was pure excitement because he knew that he held a little nine-tailed demon fox in his arms. And if he wasn't careful she would rip him to shreds, leaving him bleeding.

Her hand clenched at his back as his hips jerked and thrust a leg between hers. The warmth that he felt against his thigh pushed a growl of his own from his throat and he pressed tightly against the junction of her legs. She moaned and hitched her hips toward his in a little rocking motion and she dry humped his leg.

Naruto felt the fiery need within her belly as Sasuke pressed his leg against her. She couldn't stop her response anymore than she could stop breathing. Oh, wait, she had stopped breathing. She gasped in air on a groan and rode his thigh.

Naruto felt Sasuke pull away only to resettle so that both legs where between her and she wrapped hers around his waist. He let her head go to grasp both of her leg and hitch them high pulling her into place so that the bulge in his pants met her core where she needed to be touched the most. She nearly screamed but Sasuke clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Quietly, little fox," he murmured into her ear, "or everyone is going to come see why you're screaming." He licked the lobe of her ear and up around the rim bringing another shudder from her small frame. He pushed against her in sharp jabs that rapidly began to loose rhythm as he lost some of his control. He grasped her hips with his hands holding her still and rocking against her faster feeling the heat building between them.

He watched as Naruto pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and bit the already bruised flesh to keep the sounds inside. Her back arched up and he could see her hard nipples even through the combined material of her bra and shirt. He hadn't had a chance to visit with them but he promised himself that he would just not right now.

Naruto stared up at him and he could see the building orgasm in her bright blue eyes. She whimpered and her hand slapped over her mouth the other grabbing his arm and digging in. Her body bowed back and her head slammed into the ground as she flew over the edge. Sasuke's lips curved up at the beautiful sight before his own head flung back and he tore himself away before he came in his jeans. Unlike her he wouldn't be able to hide the evidence. He rolled onto his back an arm flung over his eyes.

Naruto laid next to him as her head spun with the feelings that were swamping her. She knew that she had just had an orgasm, her first, and she whimpered even as her body throbbed with pleasure. She looked over at Sasuke to see if he had gone through the same but his arm obscured her view and thought returned, harshly.

She had just had near sex with Sasuke. He didn't even like her. Confusion swamped her as she studied his heaving chest and the jaw that she could see was clamped together the lips turned down. She swallowed and opened her mouth to ask him why, but immediately shut it. She didn't think she wanted to hear the answer so she remained quiet.

"I'm sorry," he said sitting up and dropping his arm to his side. Naruto's blinked at him. That was the last thing she expected to hear, let alone wanted to hear. The words were laced with regret and Naruto shook her head as if to shake the words off.

"No, no, I'm sorry," she said quickly getting to her feet. She brushed most of the dirt and leaves off then looked around for something unable to put a name on it. She felt like she had lost something but didn't know what. "I…I, um, it won't happen again." Unable to stand the gaze that she knew was boring into her back, she straightened her shoulder and walked away. It wasn't quick enough for her so she broke into a run.

She refused the let the tears that had gathered into her eyes and seeing Sakura, Ino, and Hinata standing next to Lee and Gaara talking, Naruto ran up to them. She smiled her brightest smile and joining into their conversation. The defense mechanism was automatic, pretend nothing was wrong and it wouldn't be.

"Hey, I see that you're not dead," Kiba said coming up to the small group.

"Nope."

"Where's Sasuke?"

"I don't know." Which was technically the truth because she didn't know if he was still there or…

"There he is," Kiba announced seeing the raven headed guy walking out of the woods, his hands tucked into his pockets. His face was back to his expressionless mask but his eyes found Naruto who looked away immediately.

"Hey, let's call in for pizza and watch a movie tonight!" Naruto suggested a little too brightly.

"Oh, I wish I could," Sakura said, "but my parents are expecting me home in…" she looked at her watch and her eyes nearly bulged, "fifteen minutes!" She gasped grabbing Ino.

"May I see you home, Sakura," Lee asked, his eyes shining as well as his teeth. Sakura blushed but nodded. They left.

"Yeah," Shika said coming up to them with Chouji munching on a bag of BBQ chips, "we'd better go too, but it's been fun, Naruto." He placed a hand on her shoulder looking into the depths of her eyes; he must have seen something because he frowned. He opened his mouth but Naruto shook her head sharply with a little glare. He subsided but threw Sasuke an unreadable look. Chouji saw the look too and knew that something had happened but he didn't press the issue either. Instead he hugged Naruto causing her to groan at the strength in his arms before laughing with him when he let go.

"Thanks for having us over, Naruto," Chouji said then the two of them turned and left.

"Hinata, your father is here to pick you up," Neji said as he joined the group.

"Th--thank you, Neji," she stammered then looked at Gaara. He nodded at her and she smiled shyly back. Neji gave Gaara his deadliest look but it didn't faze the red head who lifted a brow at him. Both of them accompanied Hinata to the front of the house where her father waited in a black limousine.

"Dang," Kiba muttered, "I gonna learn how to do that." He watched in envy as Gaara disappeared right after the dark headed girl followed by Neji.

Naruto left Kiba, waved to Konkuro and Temari who had lapsed into another round of arguing, and when up to her room. She closed and locked the door before collapsing on her bed. Her heart hurt and the bleakness in her mind wouldn't abate. She had nearly has sex with Sasuke Uchiha, a guy that didn't like her so why had he kissed her. Was he hoping to have some of those favors that he mentioned, was she just a convenient body?

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**A/N So how was the little lime? Hot enough for you or do we need to get a little more scorching? Leave a review because the Lemon hasn't been written yet, I need to know if anyone has suffered from blood loss XD. I ended up having to make some repairs on a previous chapter but all has been fixed now. It there are any other mistakes please let me know and I will correct them as soon as possible and you will recieve a cookie in the mail in six to eight weeks! HAHAHA. Stay tuned and see if our Neji can make Sasuke jealous! AND it was an Extra Long Chapter! nearly double in size. 0.0  
**

**Zen (the scheming and sometimes lost Author of Fan Fiction)  
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	13. Chapter 13

**A/N New Update and so soon too! YAY Me! Thank you for reviewing everyone, This is for Sam and her hot date with the library guy! Good luck! trsofnaruto--**Thankyou and next chapter I promise a full lemon! **mimichan88, sessholove4lyf, narachan, FirieGurl--**again thank you all!!! Oh I'm putting the author's note first so that I don't ruin the anticipation and I will try and have the next chapter out by tomorrow so have fun! *laughs evilly* Mwahahah! READ and REVIEW!!!

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Sasuke had to admit that his mood had just sunk into the depths of darkness. What the hell had happened? He repressed a groan and glared at the blond girl that had began wreaking havoc on his normal, well planned out life. He was following the group to Kakashi's for another torture session and the girl was blatantly ignoring him. He nearly growled but kept that to himself also. He'd almost think that Kiba was finally rubbing off on him if it wasn't for the fact that the feral looking guy had just slung an arm around Naruto. He took a deep break and suppressed the need to wrench that arm away from her and break it.

_God damn it!_ _What the hell was wrong with him?_ He mentally shook his head and tucked his hands into his pockets looking away from the couple. He began replaying that first incident in his mind, the one where she had come out of the men's bathroom flushed and tousled. Her eye had looked…angry, that was a given and he had thought it was because she had just been caught in an illicit activity.

He thought about the fight. He had seen Naruto running across the field towards the bleachers and he had first thought that she had been meeting someone so he had started to walk away but for some reason he had turned around and approached the benches only to hear Sakura scream. Then the other sounds filtered in, grunts and flesh being hit. He had broken into a run, maybe he had shouted, he didn't remember but he had seen a group running off and Naruto bleeding on the ground. His heart had been pounding and a prayer went through his mind, but he wasn't going to analyze it any further than that. He couldn't admit that he was worried about the annoying girl or anything deeper than that.

He pushed the thoughts out of his head when he saw that they had reached Kakashi's training facility. He prepared for the mind numbing physical torture that the silver haired man was going to put them through. He really didn't mind the work out but he would have to listen to Kiba's constant whining.

Kakashi stood in front of them with a suspiciously speculative look in his eyes. He looked altogether too smug tonight with a tiny smirk and a gleam in his eye. Sasuke knew that the man was up to no good watching while the rest of the group fidgeted and waited for him to decide their newest torture.

Long white mats had been placed on the floor in front of them and Sasuke knew exactly what was going to happen.

"How many of you have had Martial Arts training?" he asked looking around.

Naruto's hand was in the air quickest followed by Shikamaru's and Chouji's.

"We had to go with Naruto when she was little, she insisted," the brunette shrugged and Chouji nodded.

Kiba and Gaara hands came up. "We went when we first moved in with Jiraiya, he said it was good for discipline,' Kiba spoke while he sat on his haunches and rested for the coming excersize.

Ino pulled Sakura's hand into the air. "We went also," the blond said.

"Ino forced me to go otherwise…" Sakura began.

"Otherwise you would have wasted away in your house refusing to come out after those girls teased you," Ino broke in.

Sasuke raised his hand but didn't comment.

"Good, good," he said rubbing his hands together. "I'm going to break you into groups and you're going to show me what you've been taught." He picked up a clipboard and began writing on it.

"First up will be Chouji and Kiba," he said.

The two looked at each other before Kiba shrugged and they moved into the center of the mats. At Kakashi's signal, Kiba charged Chouji. Chouji stood his ground, feet planted, hunched with hands at the ready and watched him come. It was like watching a tornado take on a mountain. Chouji caught Kiba in a brutal bear hug before slamming him into the ground, but the smaller guy wasn't done yet. He bounced up and backed off re-evaluating his strategy. Chouji was strong and used his whole body to block attacks and returned them while Kiba was quick and darted in to hit before jumping back to dodge an attack. It went on for several minutes until Kakashi called a halt to the fight.

Kiba was panting like, well, like a dog and Chouji was huffing as they moved off the mats.

"That was fun!" Kakashi praised looking at the two then back at his clip board where he wrote. "Ino, Sakura, lets see you fight."

The girls grimaced but when to the center of the mats. Ino was good but Sakura was better, she moved around the blond in a graceful dance striking and retreating, but it was soon evident that both girls had equal amounts of strength and skill. They also fought alike, movements identical. At one point Sasuke thought that the pink haired girl had the upper hand but Ino proved that she had some brains. Kakashi called their match a draw also.

Gaara and Shikamaru were up. When Kakashi told them to go neither did anything. They both stood there waiting for the other to make the first move. Gaara's arms were crossed across his chest calculation in his eyes while Shika rolled his eyes as if to say, _what a drag_. Then Gaara struck, he was smooth, efficient and his blows were heavy meant to injure driving Shikamaru back. But Shika wasn't a light weight with in the first few moves Sasuke could tell that he had come up with a strategy and began to shadow Gaara's moves. Gaara seemed to resemble a sandstorm but Shika's skill laying being able to determine which move he was going to make and move accordingly so that few of the hits landed. Kakashi called the match immediately so that Gaara didn't find a way to do any real damage to the pineapple head.

Sasuke's face remained impassive as he looked toward Naruto it was their turn. Naruto's jaw was clenched and as soon as the last two left the mats she walked onto it.

"Alright, Naruto!' Kiba yelled. "Make up proud and pound the Uchiha's pride into the ground!" Naruto glanced at dog face and grinned.

"I didn't know you were a poet!"

"Meh, you never know what skills I have!"

"Naruto," Kakashi admonished, "concentrate."

She nodded then grew more serious as she waited for Sasuke to saunter into position. He faced the girl and looked into determined blue depths. He smirked.

"Don't look too smug," she sneered at him, "I'm going to wipe the floor with you."

"Hn."

Kakashi gave the go and Naruto rushed him. She swung and he dodged easily before dropping to swipe her legs out from under her. She jumped back in time and paused. Her eyes followed him as he came back up to his feet. She was literally bouncing on the balls of her feet much like a boxer and she move in lightly. She jumped and high kicked him followed up by a round house that sent him slamming into the mats. He realized as he felt the sting in cheek that he had to watch out for her feet, they were strong and fast.

They fought each other and with each blow Sasuke landed Naruto seemed to get angrier and her moves became more pronounced and erratic. He landed a good solid blow to her chest with his foot and heard her growl deeply even as she flew back. She was back on her feet in seconds but this time she didn't come at him. She peeked up at him sideways and she was grinning the anger gone.

"My turn." She came at him and he realized that she was using some of the moves that they others had used. Sakura's gracefulness was seen as she danced around his punches and jabs while she dropped and used a quick kick to knock him off his feet. He barely had time to roll before she leaped into the air and landed a heavy blow from Gaara next to his head. She dodged a sweep of his legs and landed on him straddling his waist hand raised.

"Halt!" Kakashi yelled.

Naruto froze where she was looking down at the obsidian eyes. She twitched before dropping her hand, her breathing rapidly moving her chest up and down. Sasuke's eyes dropped to the temptation that was leaning over him before raising to meet her blue gaze, heat lit up in their depths. He remembered her response yesterday and let her know that was what he was thinking about. She shuddered before leaping to her feet.

Argh! _What was wrong with her, didn't she punish herself enough without adding him into the mix?!_ She berated herself as she turned her back on Sasuke and returned to the wall leaning against it. Her body was throbbing with the heat that she had tried to push out of her mind and forget.

Sasuke followed the girl much more slowly settling down at the end of the line as far from Naruto as possible. He knew if he was close to her he would end up touching her and probably lose a finger or five. He's lips curved up because he had felt the damp heat against his groin just before she's left him lying there.

"Ha," Kakashi said, drawing his attention and he looked up at their sensei. "That was interesting. I learn a lot so I will let you guy have a break and let you go home early today!"

"Yes! No torture, no blisters, and no splinters!" Kiba shouted in jubilation he turned and pulled Naruto into a hug swinging her around until she laughingly order him to put her down. He did but grabbed her hand in his pulling her toward the exit. The others followed with Sasuke bringing up the rear, a glare aimed at the butt licker's back.

"Hold up a minute, Naruto," Kakashi called. Naruto turned back looking at him in expectation. He waved her over.

Sasuke paused at the door far enough away to give them privacy but also make sure that there wasn't anything going on between the older man and Naruto.

Naruto waited for Kakashi to speak.

"I've gone over the school reports with your principal and unfortunately it's your word against Kabuto's. There haven't been any other reports by anyone else," he stated.

"I didn't expect you to find anything, that's why it does little good to give the police a description of him or even say anything about it. He just buys off the girl or who ever and walks away." Naruto looked up at the man, a wry smile playing about her lips. "But, her, thanks for trying. I just have to get stronger than him." She turned away from the man and seeing Sasuke standing at the door the smile became a grimace and she gritted her teeth while walking past him and out the door.

"Watch out for her, Sasuke," Kakashi said a frown on his masked face. "She's playing hardball and I'm not sure she knows the rules yet."

Sasuke just stared at the man impassively before nodding, then followed Naruto out the door.

Kakashi sighed, he had seen the look on both of their faces. He just hoped that he had done the right thing in recruiting Sasuke. He hoped that the boy could keep Naruto out of trouble because he wouldn't be able to step between her and jail time if she didn't learn to control her anger and need to save the world.

Naruto came down the stair later for the last family dinner. Tsunade had said that they had to dress up in formal clothes and Naruto was now encased in a simple sheath dress that clung to her curves and made her self conscious. She didn't have any formal clothing so ended up borrowing something from Ino earlier, thank goodness they were similar in size even if the other blond was taller.

"Hey, nice," a voice to her right complimented and Naruto looked up to meet pale lilac eyes. She blushed under the appreciative look he gave her. He moved forward and presented her with an elbow and a wink. She suppressed a giggle as she slid her hand into the crook and allowed him to guide her down the rest of the stairs.

"Wow, Naruto, you look almost pretty," Kiba said. He was dressed in a tuxedo and with the coat drawn black showed off a red vest underneath.

"You clean up nicely yourself, dog breath," she returned. He grinned back.

She notice Sasuke was dressed similarly with a midnight blue waistcoat but he was glaring darkly at Neji who smirked at him. Gaara was standing Konkuro and they both looked dashing in their tuxes, it was enough to make a girls heart go pitter pat. Neji's friend Lee was hanging out at Sakura's having been invited over for a party so he wasn't in attendance. Naruto wished that she could have gone but Tsunade was adamant that the family have their traditional dinner together. Rees and Tatsuo were spending the night at a friend's house since they couldn't sit still during a formal dinner and Tsunade didn't want to end up tying them to the chair.

Temari entered the room from the front of the house. She was wearing a light purple slip that had a thigh high slit up the side of her dress that allowed a good deal of thigh to show as she walked. Tsunade followed her with her arm through Jiraiya's arm.

"Ha, you look as gorgeous as ever," Jiraiya was saying to her. "Just like when we were kids and I peeked on you in that hot tube."

Tsuande ground her teeth together. She didn't look more than twenty nine and was dressed in a lovely emerald green gown that showed off her endowments and Jiraiya in a red dinner jacket, black trousers and white shirt was staring down at her like a love struck pervert. Oh, wait he was a pervert.

"Okay, gang, there are two limousines outside so, Jiraiya, Sasuke, Naruto, Temari, and I will take the first and the rest of you will be in the second." Tsunade turned and pulled Jiraiya out the door with her.

Neji, still retaining Naruto hand, pulled her out the door and over to the limo where he relinquished her hand with another of his bows and knuckle kisses. Naruto climbed into the limo followed by Temari and glowering Sasuke who took a seat across from her. He pulled the seat belt into place and folded his arms across his chest his black eyes hot with anger.

Dinner was a joyous event, at least it was for Naruto who ended up sitting between Konkuro and Neji only to have Sasuke claim a seat across from her at the table. Neji continued to compliment her while Konkuro teased her.

"No, no, when you hit Sasuke right in the face, that was classic," the big brunette laughed.

"You have a sweet arm there. Did you ever think about playing soft ball?" Neji said.

"Yeah, the other team would be in so much pain that they would automatically forfeit." Konkuro's laughter was breaking down in to loud guffaws. Temari reached up and smacked her brother of the back of the head.

"Quit making a scene," she whispered harshly.

"Temari, don't hit, Konkuro, he can't help be an idiot," Gaara stated with a silent look that cause Konkuro to regain control of his merriment.

"Naruto, would you like to dance," Neji asked with a nod in the direction of the dance floor where several people were waltzing. Naruto's eyes widened yet even as she was shaking her head Neji pulled her to her feet. "Come on, I bet you would be really good at it." He pulled her onto the dance floor.

She gulped as he pulled her into a formal position. "Okay now all you have to do is relax and follow my lead." Which was easier said than done because Naruto resisted until the music changed into a more familiar song. After a few minutes she allowed her body to relax and the steps came much easier.

"That's it," Neji murmured as she continued to guide her around the floor. Pretty soon, Konkuro had joined them with Tsunade while Jiraiya led Temari onto the floor. Gaara approached and tapped Neji on the shoulder. He stepped back allowing the red head to move into place. Naruto was able to relax even more since she knew that Gaara's heart lay with another.

She took turned dancing with everyone except Sasuke who watched from the table refusing to join in on the fun, but he scowled the whole time she was dancing. She ignored him determined to enjoy the evening.

It was late when they returned to the house, and everyone but Naruto went up stairs to get ready for bed, Naruto plopped down onto a sofa only to be pulled back to her feet by Sasuke. He gripped her wrist and pulled her out of the house and down into the deep shadows of the garden.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded yanking on her wrist.

"This," he snarled pulling her into his chest and setting his mouth firmly over hers.


	14. Chapter 14

Naruto couldn't think with Sasuke devouring her mouth. Her brain shut down and her body took over, pressing against his chest in order to get closer. His tongue licked at her teeth urging her to respond in kind and she moaned at the sweet taste of him, again.

Her body protesting and her mind rebelling, Naruto pushed against his shoulders breaking the kiss.

"What the hell are you doing," she hissed jerking away from him.

"I thought that would be obvious," Sasuke stated calmly, and if it wasn't for his chest rising and falling rapidly then no one would have known what they had been doing seconds ago.

The statement made Naruto see red and she attacked him for all she was worth. She kicked and threw punches that he dodged easily. After the fifth kick that nearly connected to his face, Naruto felt his hands wrap around her arm and jerk her forward to crash into his chest. The impacted knock the breath out of her and she saw stars for a few seconds while she relearned how to breathe. His arms were locked around her and she could barely move her upper body.

"Stop that," he ground out.

"I won't be used by you just because I happen to be a convenient body!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked startled.

"It means that you think that I'm easy and, since I am, you have a convenient person to scratch your itch." She was snarling by the time she finished explaining. Her voice echoing the pain that she had been feeling since yesterday, and hearing it she winced because she hadn't been able to hide it.

Sasuke stilled, his chest pressed to hers, in fact they were pressed together from chest to thigh. Naruto looked up into his face to see the surprise register for a couple of seconds before he regained control over his features.

"I…I don't think that you're easy," he sighed dropping his arms from her and pacing away. "Nor do I think of you as a convenient body."

"You don't?" she felt the confusion sift through her as she tried to understand what he had just said.

"No, if anything you are the most stubborn creature I have ever met and the most annoying." A hand lifted to scrape through thick black locks pushing them back on his head as he turned to look at her. His black eyes glittered with frustration.

"Then why did you kiss me?"

"Because I wanted to."

"That doesn't tell me anything! If I'm so stubborn and annoying you shouldn't want to be kissing me!"

He glared at her in an attempt to still her agitated movement, such as the flying arms and her readying to attack him again. She had automatically bent her knees and was now balanced on the balls of her feet in her need to strike out at him again. It took a good amount of effort but she subsided and forced her body to relax.

He stood on the rocky trail before moving to a bench and sitting down, he leaned forward and propped his forearms onto his knees clasping his hands lightly in between his legs, studying the lines that moved through his skin. He shook his head and looked up at her.

"Sit," he ordered with a motion to the space next to him.

Naruto blinked. Her first instinct was to refuse and walk away, because she didn't take orders from anyone very well. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to walk over and gingerly take the seat he had so kindly offered. She sat on the edge barely making a connection to the cool stone.

"I am an Uchiha--," he began.

"Really? I won't have guessed except that you're last name is Uchiha," Naruto muttered sarcastically interrupting his dialogue.

"Shut up, ursatonkachi. As I was saying, I am an Uchiha, and as such It's hard for me to…" he stopped talking as if he couldn't find the words, but Naruto knew that wasn't correct because Sasuke was one of the smartest people that she knew, aside from Shikamaru who was a veritable genius. Sasuke looked up at her. "I jumped to a conclusion that wasn't correct. I must apologize."

"Yo—you are admitting that you were wrong about me?" Naruto asked to clarify the words in her mind.

"Yes," he said through gritted teeth.

"And you're sorry?"

"Yes."

Naruto huffed sliding further onto the bench then crossing her arms in front of her, not noticing that Sasuke's eyes dropped to the plumped pillows that were beginning to strain the front of her dress at the action.

"When did hell freeze over?"

"When they discovered swine flu," Sasuke dead panned.

Naruto blinked at him. Then she snorted in suppressed amusement before she couldn't hold it in any longer. She howled, her head thrown back as she laughed loudly. Sasuke snickered with her.

"Oh, my God," she said calming a few minutes later, "I can't believe that you cracked a joke!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her. Then he reached over and took her hand in his. The motion stilled any more laugher from Naruto because she couldn't breathe. Her head snapped up to look into his suddenly serious eyes. Her body beginning to tingle and a familiar ache tightened the muscles in her stomach. He played with her hand sliding his finger through hers and intertwined their hands, his thumb brushing over the delicate skin. Naruto's brow furrowed as she saw a banked pain in his eyes.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?"

"Do you know that I haven't held anyone's hand since I was about six? I thought that I was too old to do such a childish thing." He looked into eyes that were lit with the stars. "I remember telling my mom that she was embarrassing me in front of my friends when she held my hand. She just smiled and called me her little man. I really didn't feel embarrassed but I knew that the older boys didn't hold their mom's hands and I wanted to be like them. But that's what I missed the most after my parent's deaths, that connection to someone, just the simple knowledge that when someone wants to hold your hand, you know that they want to do so because they want to be with you." He studied their hands bringing then up in front of him. Naruto felt the sting of tears at his confession, her head dropping to look at the rocky path before the bench. The looked up as she felt him shift next to her.

Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned forward slightly and kissed the back of her hand. Then he pulled her toward him, not relinquishing her hand, but just drawing her in with it and gently sweeping his mouth across her. Her eyes fluttered shut at the first feathery touch, feeling warmth suffuse her as his tongue licked her bottom lip asking for permission to enter. She granted it with a quick lick of her own. His response was immediate as he settled firmly into the kiss, his tongue delving deeply into her warm cavern and rubbing against hers.

For the second time in the space of an hour, Naruto's brain shut down in the face of his kiss. Sensations were spiking through her and to ground herself to the earth, she tightened her hold on Sasuke's hand then pushed her other into his hair and around to the back of his head to hold him to her. His hair felt like cool dark silk as it slid through her fingers, tickling them and making her hand clench into a fist. His own had fisted into her locks dislodging the pins that had secured her hair into a semblance of order.

He pulled her head back, kissing and nipping, he made his way from her chin and down her throat then to the hallow that housed hyper sensitive nerve endings just under her ear. Drawing the flesh into his mouth he bit it and listened to her indrawn breath feeling satisfied with the result. He rewarded her by licking her ear lobe then finding her pulse, pressing his tongue against the erratic beat, he smiled. He released her hand so that he could run his over her in a slow erotic glide.

Her hands didn't remain idle either. She pulled his shirt from his pants and pushed underneath to feel the hard muscles that had captivated her from the beginning. Whenever he had stretched, leaned against a wall with arms crossed, turned or twisted his body, those muscles had been on display through his shirts. They weren't bulky, but ropier with long tendons that had made her mouth dry on more than one occasion. She explored his abs and chest with smooth finger tips that cause him to murmur against her throat in a hum that vibrated and heated her body, sending another jolt through her straight to her groin.

Sasuke undid the back of her dress letting the material fall away from her, exposing her flesh to the cool night air. The flesh roughened and her nipples became small rosy raspberries that begged for his touch. He leaned away and stared at the plumpness that he had bared to his dark gaze. Naruto flushed from her face and across the top of those beautiful, elegant pillows moving to hide them from his sight but he stopped her, grabbing her wrist to prevent her from crossing them.

"God, they are so pretty," he whispered huskily then reaching out and cupping one in his palm, running his thumb over the hard bud. "See how it begs me for attention?"

Naruto watched in fascination as the tip filled with blood becoming even harder and redder then gasped as dark hair obscured her vision.

Sasuke took the tip into his mouth, swirling his tongue over the satiny bead before suckling on it gently. He heard the gasping sigh as Naruto leaned back, arching, to offer more of her body to him. He slowly guided her down onto the bench feeling her flinch when her heated skin met the cool, smooth surface. He other hand found her other breast and played with the hard nipple.

"Sasuke, please." She wanted that feeling that he had given her yesterday when she had rubbed against him but this time the sensation rocking through her were worst. She wriggled under him, her hips pushing against him in need. Her hands pushed his jacket from his shoulders tossing it to the ground followed quickly by the tie. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on the button up but she was able to get it undone and off him. The pale skin seemed to glow in the darkness and Naruto's hands played across his back in little sweeps, her fingers tracing the shoulder blades and vertebrae, even as her spine bowed when his hand brushed up her thigh to linger against the elastic of her panties.

"Do you want this?" he asked pulling away from the addiction that was her body. He looked up at her with unreadable eyes that were deepened by the shadows that moved across his pale features.

Naruto opened her mouth to reply only to gasp as he fingers tightened against her hips. "Y—y—yes, please, Sasuke, make love to me," she said softly.

He kept her starlit blue gaze, studying the assurance in them before dipping his head down to lick her belly and the little indent there. He fingers slid under the slender material that kept her core hidden from his and pulled the soft satin down her legs. He smirked into her stomach as he tucked the panties into his back pocket then pushed her skirt up. The rough pads of his fingers trailed up the inside of the thigh before brushing against her pale curls.

"This," he said pulling away to watch her reactions, "is such a lure, so pale, so soft…" his voice trailed off as he dipped his finger through the pelt seeking the liquid center of her. He pressed against the hidden bud watching as she eyes fluttered close and her mouth parted slightly to pant, her hips rocking into his touch. The flush on her cheeks wasn't from embarrassment anymore; her passions were riding her now. Her hands having lost access to him were now clenched on the edges of the bench, knuckles white.

"Ha…Sas…help me…" Her voice broke as she shuddered against his palm. She writhed on the hard stone, feeling like a sacrifice, even as he pushed a finger into her. Her back bent at the foreign penetration. Sasuke used his other arm to clamp down on her hips to keep her steady as he pushed deeper into the tightness of her core. Heat surrounded the digit and it took everything in him to keep from shucking his pants and pushing into that heat with the part of him that was all for the idea.

He worked the finger in and out of her keeping his thumb rubbing against her bud to decrease her resistance. Feeling her muscle relax he added a second to join the first.

Naruto inhale through her parted lips mumbling little encouraging noises that she couldn't suppress as his finger stretched her, pulling the juices from her body to aid his penetration. Her stomach was clenched in painful need and the soothing brush of his fingers on her hips causing her to flinch slightly at the over sensitivity that was bursting through her.

"Sa—Sasuke," she murmured his name again unable to put her thoughts into coherent statements but it wouldn't have done any good because he wasn't about to be moved from his position, at least not until he was done playing with her.

His mouth settled over her, he tongue rubbing her clit as he had her tongue when he kissed her. She cried out softly unable to get enough breath into her lungs for a stronger sound, her hips bucking at the electricity that arced through her. Her hand came of the bench and fisted into his hair, unsure of their movements, whether to pull him away or hold him closer. Her eyes blinked open to catch sight of the dark head between her legs then turning up to the Milky Way that paved a path across the sky. She begged the heavens for things she couldn't name even as she body exploded with a force she hadn't felt before.

Sasuke pulled away to watch her. Her eyes were wide and staring up at the night sky unseeing as he slid his fingers out then back into the clenching heat of her body. She milked his fingers with tight muscles as her blue orbs fluttered shut once more.

Sasuke stood and undid his pants pushing them to his knees. He pushed her legs apart and sat down on the bench after a few seconds debate about moving her. He felt that if he moved their positions to the grass then she would come to her senses and pull away from him so he gathered her into his arms and lifted her. He gripped his hard on and guided it into her as he settled her in his lap. Her long legs clamped around his hips as her arms wrapped around his neck her head buried in his shoulder.

He penetrated her easily barely feeling the resistance as he took her virginity. She gasped at the fullness that was now stretching her and he realized how small and sharp her teeth were when she set them into his shoulder. He hissed but the pain only increase his need for her and he bucked into her sinking to his full hilt. Her nails dug into his back and she rocked her hips into him.

"That's it, go ahead and find your pleasure because we are along way from being done," her murmured into her ear then licked it feeling her shudder at the slick touch. He grasped her hips and helped move her against him in a smoother, harder motion that increased his pleasure as well as hers. He turned and laid down in her previously occupied spot leaving her on top. She looked down at him in question and sitting up which caused her to bow, her head thrown back as he sunk deeper into the hot warmth. After that she didn't have any more questions as she rocked her hips against him in ever increasing speed and strength.

He clenched his hands onto her hips hard enough that he knew there would be bruises and he liked the thought of leaving his mark on her, but seeing the little dark circles that marred her neck and breasts, he knew that he had branded her in several places. He pulled her hips closer which decrease the range of her rocking but she didn't complain as he pressed into that certain spot at the same time he shifted his hand to press against her pelvis from the outside and she came again. He held her as he ground his sips against her, her orgasm helping him find his own and he groaned as he exploded inside of her.

Naruto collapsed onto his chest letting the lethargy claim her body as she swirled her fingers around the pale copper disks of his nipples. She felt really good and didn't want to let this part end any time soon. Her body was still trembling in aftershocks and her breathing was raggedly coming in pants. Sasuke held her close and their bodies stuck together because of the thin sheen of sweat that coated them. His heart was still beating a fast tattoo in her ear and she smiled slightly at the erratic rhythm.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"I…I…Thank you," she murmured turning her head so that her chin rested on his chest and she could look up at him. She had wanted to say something else but decided against that little confession. She didn't know how he would react and she was afraid that it would cause him to become angry and leave.

"You're welcome." He chuckled lowly. He shook his head at the irrationality but didn't question it further. "We'd better get you up to the house; it's getting cold out here."

Naruto pulled the ends of the dress up and fastened them behind her neck then looked around for her underwear.

"Do you see my panties anywhere?" she asked him.

"No," he said turning to her quickly then pulling his shirt over his shoulders and buttoning it, leaving it untucked, he grabbed the jacket and draped it across his arms before looking for the tie that was now missing. He shrugged, thinking that he would find it in the morning then took her hand and pulled her back up to the house. He showed her to her room grateful that the rest of the house was silent in slumber. At her door he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, her hands diving into his hair again and holding him to her. They broke apart gasping.

"You'd better get inside," he panted pushing her into her room before firmly closing the door behind him.

He dropped the clothing on the floor, the pulled his pants off along with the shirt making a small pile out of them. He collapsed onto the bed smiling up at the dark ceiling, thinking about Naruto and her response to his love making. But the smile didn't last long when he remembered coming inside of her.

Without a condom.

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**A/N Wow, where did that come from? Hmm...As I said a full lemon! I hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Sam--**I hope that you have fun on your date! **Trsofnaruto--**Like I promised and i don't mean to neglect the other storied, but this one is taking up my mind at the moment but I will get back to them and soon I hope, a few more chapters and I think I will complete this! **Jaria--**Thanks for the review and I try to. For the rest of you, Thanks for reading and stay tuned! Please leave a review or you can PM me. They help me soo much when I write! You guys are the reason that I write in the first place.

**Disclaimer--I don't own Naruto, but Kishimoto has put him on ebay and I will soon! *looks at Sasuke* What! you already bought him? Shit!**

**THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT**--its nearly eleven and I'm bushed!

**ZEN  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N Like that last chapter did you? Ha! Well here is the next update. So ladies and gentlemen put you tray in the upright position and...*blinks, wide eyed* we're not on a plane? Oh! Well, okay, no tours for you then. Without further stupidity...**

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"I remember that during my freshman year that there was a rumor about a girl going missing and being found dead later. But as far as I know, I think that they said that the girl's uncle kidnapped, raped, and killed her. There wasn't any further investigation into it after the guy confessed," Konkuro was telling Jiraiya and Kakashi, who had shown up early before the family headed back to school.

"When I asked around to some of my old classmates, well, let's just say that most were really quiet about anything concerning Kabuto. So I'm going to continue asking around, there has to be someone out there that's willing to talk and I haven't gotten a hold of several of the girls. Their parents don't seem to believe that I'm on the reunion committee," he snickered at the thought; maybe that was the reason that the parents weren't so trusting towards him.

She hated having to talk about Kabuto knowing that even though everyone was working hard to help her they weren't going to find anything to use against him. She grew cold just hearing that no one wanted to say anything about him even though they were away from his influence. It was either they didn't want their families hurt, or they knew a little too much and were risking their lives if they spoke out against the Yakushis.

Naruto felt Sasuke move in behind her the heat radiating of his body warming her chilled flesh. Her head dipped down to hide the slight blush that entered her cheeks when she thought about last night. He came to stand next to her and their shoulders brushed whenever one of them breathed. His hand brushed against hers linking for a moment before letting go. A quick connection as if to say that he was there for her, and he wanted to be there.

Naruto quit breathing for the space of several seconds as emotions swamped her and she felt a little overwhelmed by them. The lust she could deal with, but the surge of happiness when he was near was completely new to her, along with the sudden shyness. She wasn't shy ever but every time she looked at him now she wanted to blush and duck her head. His hand brushed against hers once more, she turned her hand and his first two fingers linked with hers. She fought to keep the smile off of her face.

"Alright, Kabuto, and thank you for looking into this for us," Kakashi said looking at his watch then at Jiraiya. "I'll continue talking with some of my leads, but so far I'm having the same luck, no one wants to talk. I have a meeting with a the principal of Kabuto's elementary school tomorrow so we'll have to see where this pans out, but it's looking real grim at the moment."

Jiraiya nodded his face completely serious for once. "Tsunade and I have also been talking to some of our contacts with in the higher circles, close to the Yakushis. Same there I'm afraid. This had turned out really interesting though, knowing that no one wants to talk about the boy or the family for that matter must mean that there is something to hide. We'll continue nosing around and see if we can dig up anything also, and in the mean time the boys are going to be watching Naruto really closely."

"Sell, Jiraiya, Temari and I need to get going if we're going to make it to Konoha University for our first classes at noon. We'll definitely going to be for Mother's Day, but for the next month we're going to be prepping for finals so investigating is probably going to be slow going for the next little bit," Konkuro stated with a little sigh at the thought of finals.

"Schooling of more important so don't neglect it over this. If there is anything to dig up then Kakashi, Tsunade or I will probably be the one to find it," Jiraiya said in a stern, fatherly voice.

Konkuro nodded then grinned, "I would have made a great dad."

Jiraiya smiled widely at that then stood and came around the desk that he sat at. He pulled Konkuro to his feet and delivered a back breaking hug to the younger man. "I am a dad, boy, to everyone that has ever been in this house and that's enough for me."

Konkuro left before anything mushier could be said. He had to go find Temari and say bye to Gaara before they left for school. Naruto and Sasuke followed him out leaving Kakashi talking about Jiraiya's next installment of the Icha, Icha Paradise series that Kakashi loved, their clasped hands still hidden by their bodies.

Neji and Lee were in the foyer with Rees and Tatsuo. The younger boys watching as the older two showed them some martial arts. Lee was really fast and strong but Neji was more skilled and blocked the others moves easily. Rees was rooting Lee on while Tatsuo had taken Neji's side yelling for him to kick ass.

"You two break anything," Tsunade yelled from the top of the stairs, "and I will take it out of your hides!"

Temari appeared next to her with a small make-up case followed by Gaara and Konkuro lugging the rest of her luggage down the stairs and out to the car. Naruto grinned as Gaara shot a killing look at his sister but didn't say anything to her, she guessed that he had told her no but she didn't listen and railroaded the both of them into doing it.

Soon everyone had their cars loaded and were ready to go.

"Hey, Naruto, tell Sakura that I will come up for a visit after the school year ends," Lee requested giving her a bright smile that sparkled in the sunlight. Naruto nodded dazed at the whiteness of the grin.

Neji came up behind her and hugged her causing Sasuke to frown darkly at him in anger. Neji smirked then kissed her cheek before letting go. "I'm looking forward to Mother's Day." He walked away, grinning, as Sasuke stepped even closer to Naruto as she waved at the brunette.

"Don't let him do that again," Sasuke demanded staring daggers as Neji's back.

"It's not like I asked the guy to hug me, and anyways I can do what I want because you don't own me," Naruto muttered angrily.

"You're mine," was all the raven said in response.

"You are looking for a fight? Because I'm willing to show everyone here that I can kick your ass!"

"Hn."

"Are you saying that I can't? I remember wiping the floor with you at Kakashi's training center before he called a halt to the match."

"Hn."

"Argh, you're impossible!" She made to stomp away but forgot that Sasuke had a hold on her hand. She came to a quick halt when her arm reached the limit of its reach. "Let go," she hissed quietly not wanting to draw attention to herself from the others that were saying goodbye.

"No." He pulled her back to him then leaned down so that no one else could hear their conversation. "We have to talk about last night."

Naruto froze, looking up at him in confusion, a smidgeon of worry entering her head and heart. Sasuke leaned forward and kissed her brow before releasing her hand and walking up to Konkuro and Temari to tell them farewell.

"Naruto," Kakashi said, startling her. "You like Sasuke, hmm?"

"Um, ah…" she wasn't sure how to answer him knowing that he had jurisdiction over her, her home and everything else at the moment.

He grinned behind the mask, his eyes doing that upside down U thing. "He's a nice kid, but a word of advice. Use a condom." He walked away to tell everyone bye himself before leaving.

Naruto swallowed and tried to think about when she had her last period and gave a quick sigh of relief. _The danger period has past,_ she thought relaxing a bit but she knew that she had better by a few, just in case. She shivered a bit at the thought of her and Sasuke making love again and she felt her face heating up. She turned a sprinted back into the house, passing Jiraiya on his way out.

"Hey, Naruto!" he called as she hit the first step. "Are you alright?"

"Yes!" But she didn't stop until she was barricaded in her room.

_Shit!_ Had Kakashi seen them holding hands? He must have.

She gathered up her clothing so that she could change for school and went to shower. She felt a little bit better after she'd taken a hot shower and worked out the knots and sore places her body had from the previous nights activities. She emerged from the steaming shower with her perpetual orange t-shirt sticking to her damp skin and a pair of faded blue jeans. Sasuke was lounging on her bed stroking the cat in a sensual motion that arrested her steps for more that a few seconds. She shook her head sharply to bring her focus off of his elegant hands and up to his face. Yep, he was smirking, again.

"You shouldn't be in here," she hissed at him.

"Don't worry. Tsunade has left for work, Jiraiya is back in the study writing, and everyone else is getting ready for school," Sasuke stated as he got up off the bed and stretched. "I wanted a few minutes alone with you."

"Why?"

He came up to her, his hands raised to stroke along her arms in the same sensual way that he had the cat and she nearly purred. Her eyes closed savoring the feeling as Sasuke's lips closed on hers. It was a slightly different kiss from the night before. It was slow, undemanding and sweet. His tongue slicking across her bottom lip until she opened her mouth and allowed him entry but he didn't assault her mouth just continued the lazy, slow motions.

When they parted her mouth was still open and a strand of saliva followed his until he traced her lips once more gathering the last of the sweet taste of her up before stepping back.

"That's why," he murmured in a black velvet voice. "I'll see you down stairs and we will talk after school." He left humming the opening strains of Hinder's 'Lips of an Angel'. Naruto stood there for a few minutes gathering up enough will power to keep herself upright unable to do more than that at the moment.

Sasuke stayed close to her side through out school, walking her to each class, and even sitting with the rest of them at lunch. He touched her frequently and they even held hands during a movie in Science class. Naruto hadn't been able to concentrate on the movie since she was more focused on Sasuke's hand his fingers tracing the lines in her palm.

At lunch, Naruto told Sakura what Lee had said and got a kick out of watching the pink haired turn as red as a fruit of the tree she was named after. Ino grinned and teased her friend about disappearing at the party she had thrown.

"Shut up, Ino-pig," Sakura said getting angry.

"I would, Forehead, but you have to admit that you looked rather tousled when you came back," Ino snickered causing the rest of us to break out in laughter as Sakura turned an even darker shade of red.

"Troublesome girl," Shika muttered lying back on the grass and watching the clouds moving lazily across the sky.

Gaara's eyes were on Sasuke in a narrowed way like they were having a conversation that the rest of the group wasn't privy to. His lips curved and he nodded before looking away with a satisfied expression. Naruto looked at Sasuke in question but he wasn't any help as he had turned away from her. She frowned and opened her mouth to ask but was interrupted.

"Naruto?"

Naruto looked up to see a younger, carrot-topped girl approaching. Her hair was really long except for her bangs and a layer of hi pulled up into a chopped off pony tail.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Um,' the girl looked really nervous and pulled out a wrinkled envelop from her pocket and handed it to her. "I—I was told to give this to you."

Naruto took the envelope but didn't open it. "Who gave it to you?"

"One of the older girls," she said, "Karin, I think her name it."

"Who are you?"

"Sasori Fuuma." The girl quickly turned a left before Naruto asked anything else.

"Should you open it?" Ino asked looking at the white object in suspicion. Everyone was.

Sasuke took the envelope from her lax fingers and tore it open.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed lunging for the envelope only to have Sasuke hold it out of reach. "It's mine!"

"If there is anything dangerous then I don't want you touching it," he said calmly. He took out a white sheet of paper and opened it. His eyes brow rose and he handed it over to Gaara without a word.

"Well," Naruto demanded, "What does it say?"

"I am going to make your life miserable before you die," Gaara said evenly, his head tilted as he studied the page. He grabbed one of the empty baggies that Chouji's sandwiches had come in and slipped the letter inside then held it open for Sasuke to put the envelope in also. He zipped it closed and tucked it into the bag.

"We already know that it came from Karin," Naruto said watching them seal away the evidence.

"Perhaps, but it helps to have evidence," Gaara said.

"Fine, Kiba will you walk me to class," Naruto said glaring at Sasuke and Gaara. She didn't like being railroaded but she didn't really have a choice in the matter since she knew that they were right.

Kiba made to stand only to be wave away by Sasuke.

"I'll do it, no need for you to walk in the complete opposite direction of your class."

Kiba grinned, "Hey, thanks."

Naruto growled under her breath and stomped away. Sasuke strode silently beside her until they were out of sight then he pulled her into a deserted class room. He pushed her up against the wall leaning into her to keep her there. She didn't struggle but looked up at him silently willing him to burn into a cinder.

Sasuke smirked but didn't let her go, instead his head lowered and he claimed her lips in another searing kiss that wiped all thinking from her brain. She leaned into him letting him devour her. He pulled this morning's emotions out of her and left the red hot lust in its place. She stood on tip-toe trying to get closer to the furnace of his mouth her hand diving into his hair as his fisted in hers to hold her still the other clutching her tightly to his chest.

She pressed against him then he lifted her off the floor and she didn't have any choice but to lift her legs to his waist letting him support her. It was either that or hang there like and idiot. His one hand that wasn't in her hair slid down to hold her against him while he push leaned her against the wall for added support but she probably could have held herself against him without it. She felt the hardness of him against her core and pressed against it wiggle her hips a little. She had the satisfaction of hearing Sasuke groan into her mouth. He left her lips and licked his way across her chin and to her highly sensitive ears and pulse, pressing his tongue against the skin, feeling the fast throbbing of her heart.

She didn't stay idol either and went on a voyage to find his pulse, feeling his chin lift and giving her complete access to his throat. She tasted his flesh in the little nook between her ear and jaw and was rewarded with a little shudder.

"Like that do you?" she teased.

"Hn."

She grinned before going back to work on exploring every inch of him that she could reach.

She was brought back to reality when the bell rang. Jerking away from his Adam's apple, she hit her head on the wall.

"Ow!" she exclaimed letting go of his hair to rub the little lump she had just given herself.

Sasuke grinned then let her legs go so that she could slide down his body. Naruto's breath slipped out of her as she felt the solidness of him. Her eyes closing and her legs nearly collapsing when she landed on the floor, if it wasn't for the fact that he was holding her upright, she probably would be sprawled out on the floor.

"Its gym next isn't it?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah," Naruto responded dazed from the linger passion. She couldn't understand how he could be so composed but she guessed it was from years of practice as an Uchiha.

"Karin is in your class isn't she?"

Naruto remembered the note and also the lost assault. Those two things took care of the last traces of lust. She nodded.

"I'm in the boys group and can't help you, so I want you to stay far away from her, don't let her get a chance to hurt you again."

"I already know that, I'm not stupid."

"I didn't say you were."

"You've called me an usuratonkachi which could be a synonym for it."

"Hn. We'd better get to class before we're late." Sasuke pulled Naruto out of the classroom and down the hallway towards the locker rooms.

They parted at the door and Naruto went into the girls' room abruptly coming to a halt seeing Karin standing their looking happy about something, then Naruto noticed the silence. Everyone had already changed and was gone, leaving her alone with Karin and two of her cohorts.

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**A/N Yep, I did it...CLIFFHANGER!!! Mwahahaha! So how was that. I thought it was really sweet. Leave a review and let me know! To all my wonderful readers, Thank you so much, I really grateful that you like the story! Please pardon the grammar errors, I hate proofreading and my beta is busy doing other things at the moment (Sleeping! can you imagine, I mean is only like...1:30 in the morning!) O.o **

**Sam, trsofnaruto, mimichan, Warlord, Jaria, FirieGurl, Yaoi, melissaaax3: You guys are my most favoritest people in the fan fiction kingdom! Love you guys and thanks for reviewing. Looking forward to hearing from you Sam about Alexi (?)**

**ZEN (the fabulous and regular [I'm like fiber! *grins* Ew] updater, at least on this story)  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N Howdy ya'll! *snickers* yes, I am a officially licensed member of the WEST so deal or not!. Um, sorry it's taken a day or two longer to get out than I originally planned I got caught up in reading some fanfics by a few really good authors. Now lets see: I need to thank my readers and my reviewers, do the laundry, write a disclaimer, do the dishes, fold the laundry and what else...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did Sasuke would be at my house every day! HAHA!**

**Now On with the Show!**

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Seeing the malicious intent in Karin's mud brown eyes made Naruto slightly nervous. It wasn't as if she couldn't take the girl on her own but she had brought two friends with her which gave the bitch the advantage with numbers. The two other girls were tall and looked like weightlifters with all the muscles that they had on them, serious she-men if Naruto had ever seen one.

"What's the matter, Karin," Naruto taunted the girl with a little wave of her fingers, as if to say bring it, "scared of a fair fight?"

"You fucking bitch, I'm tired of you swinging that ass at every man that passes your way, first Kabuto and now Sasuke Uchiha. You're nothing but a smutty tease," the older girl snarled, her face contorting into an ugly sneer.

"Ooh, sticks and stones, Karin."

"I'm going to mess up your face!" Karin nearly screamed through her teeth when she saw that Naruto wasn't afraid of her.

"My, oh my, where did you get your phrasing from? Was it the Bitches for Dummies book…No wait, I know. It was the Complete Idiots Guide to Bitchiness!"

Karin lunged at her and she ducked under the arms, spinning around to send a foot into the girl's ass, propelling her into the door with a hard thud. Before she could even smirk Naruto was enveloped in hard muscle bound arms as the other she-thug moved in and slugged Naruto in the kidneys. Naruto grimaced when another punch was delivered by a hard fist.

"Stop, I'm going to cut her face up so that another person can't look at her without vomiting!" Karin said pulling a jack knife out.

"Where did you have that hidden, Karin, in your ass?" Naruto knew that she was pushing Karin a little too far but at this point she was tired of the whole situation with Kabuto and Karin both. She was through thinking about the consequences, she was done thinking of three more months, she was done thinking of the doing the right thing.

She leaned forward as far as her body would allow then slammed her head back into the nose of the girl holding her and as had happened with Kabuto, she heard the sickening crunch of cartilage and was released as the muscle-bound girl dropped her arms to grab her nose. One down and two to go.

"Grab her!" Karin snarled at the other she-thug with a flick of the knife in Naruto's direction.

Naruto bounced out of reach as the girl stretched to grab her arms. She sent a high kick into the girl's chest knocking her back into a bank of lockers the felt a sharp sting in her arm and out for the count. Grabbing the injured area she looked up as Karin laughed and took another swipe with the sharp instrument. Naruto lunged for the girl's knees to knock her off balance, wrapping her arms tightly around them.

Karin toppled over and landed heavily on Naruto the knife skittering across the floor to slide up against the base of the toilet, ten feet away. Wasting little time in untangling herself from Karin, she scrambled across the floor reaching for the knife, only to come up a few inches short as Karin's clawed hand fastened around her ankle and jerked her back. The red headed bitch began pummeling Naruto in every place she could reach getting in a few lucky strikes at Naruto's kidneys and stomach as the blond trying to defend herself while lying in an awkward position on her stomach with Karin kneeling across her legs.

"Seriously, Karin, you…hit like…a girl," Naruto jeered between grunts as Karin's fists landed.

"You fucking, whore!"

Naruto reached around a latched onto the first thing her hand touched, which was stringy auburn strands, and pulled earning her a high pitched screech. Karin's feet came into play and slammed against her jaw, making Naruto see stars for the few seconds needed for Karin to find the knife again.

At the loud yelp of triumph, Naruto looked up in time to duck and protect her head with her arms as the sharp blade came at her again. A long swipe cut Naruto's arm for elbow to wrist but Naruto growled lowly pushing to her feet before that knife could come around again. She needed to end this little battle now, before she ended up back in the hospital. When Karin swung again Naruto was ready and kicked out at the wrist as it swung in her direction, connecting hard and snapping the bones in Karin's wrist.

Karin screamed and clutched the broken limb against her chest. Naruto panted heavily turning sharply to look for the other girl who had disappeared when Karin had cut Naruto the first time. Through the heavy breathes she dimly heard the clacking of foot steps as Anko Mitarashi came through the door followed closely the rest of the class including Sasuke.

"What the fuck happened here?" Anko demanded looking at Naruto's dripping arm and Karin who was now curled up of the floor screaming that she was going to kill Naruto not just fuck up her face. "Shut UP!" Anko roared at Karin who immediately closed her mouth but didn't stop sobbing in pain.

Sasuke grabbed a towel that had fallen out of one of the lockers that the she-thug had hit and moved over to Naruto taking her arm and gently wrapping the towel tightly around it to slow the bleeding, then he pulled his shirt over his head and pressed it to the gash near her shoulder holding it there. Naruto would have blushed if it wasn't for the fact that her blood was doing a fast escape from her body. She looked up and saw several of the dazed faces of the girls that had crowded into the room, many drooling as they saw Sasuke's hard, toned chest. She glared, killing daggers at them which they ignored as they ogled her Sasuke.

"Stupid fangirls," Naruto mutter beneath her breath, then turned her attention to the gym teacher checking Karin's wrist.

"You," Anko barked at the nearest girl, "go to the office and tell them that we need a couple of ambulances!'

The girl scrambled to comply as Naruto's head began to spin. Sasuke directed her to the bench and pushed her down onto it then continued pushing until her head hung between her legs.

"Don't pass out," he ordered, gently. Naruto would have glared at him at the ridiculous order if she hadn't been to busy trying to follow it.

"I wouldn't pass out even if you paid me, teme," Naruto said.

Sasuke chucked. "That's my girl. Hold that towel tight, we need to slow the bleeding." The hand not occupied with holding his shirt to her shoulder came up to grasp the hand of the injured arm his fingers linking in her and showing everyone that was interested that she belonged to him.

"What has happened now?!" Principal Iruka came through the outer doors. He caught sight of Naruto sitting on the bench. "I should have known that you would be involved!" His accusation was unfair in Naruto's eyes and her head came up forgetting all about its previous dizziness in favor of anger.

"I wouldn't be involved if people would just leave me the fuck alone!" she burst out in blatant disrespect.

"That's it you are going to be expelled!" Iruka said harshly his face turning red in anger at the language that Naruto had used.

"That's fin…"

"Wait!" Anko broke in as she was checking out the other girl who was beginning to come to. "Tayuya, who started this mess?" she demanded of the fallen girl.

"I…I," the girl began then looked at Karin for help; Karin shook her head sharply a warning in her pain filled eyes. Tayuya shook her head before looking at Anko. "Naruto."

"There, you see," Iruka crowed in triumph.

"She's lying," a deep baritone interrupted from behind Iruka and everyone's heads came around to look at Ibiki who had come in behind Iruka. "Tayuya?"

The girl's eyes widened in terror at the teacher before she started speaking. "It was Karin. She told us to help her beat up Naruto, said that Naruto stole her boyfriend from her and she wanted to get back at her for it! We were just supposed to beat her up but Karin pulled the knife out and told me to hold her while she marked up her face so that no one would want her!" The girl howled her confession. Naruto was impressed that Ibiki could evoke that kind of reaction, sure he was scary but he was just a teacher wasn't he?

The paramedics arrived a couple of minutes later and word passed quickly through the school that Naruto had been cut but had broken Karin's arm and kicked her ass for it. The medics quickly checked Naruto out and bundled her into the ambulance. And much to her relief they allowed Sasuke to go with her. She hated hospitals and would probably have thrown a huge fit if Sasuke wasn't allowed to go with her. She saw her friends as she was lifted into the vehicle; Gaara's phone was out and up to his ear, probably informing Jiraiya that Naruto had to be taken to the hospital again. She pulled a face at them showing them that she was fine and the two girls smiled, small smiles, back knowing that she was just putting on a front of bravado. The guys just shook their heads.

"We'll meet you there!" Kiba shouted as the doors closed.

Sasuke stood outside the door while the doctor checked Naruto out. Jiraiya was in the room watching as they stitched up Naruto's arm. He had arrived a few minutes ago, and with a lifted brow at Sasuke, he had entered the room followed by the nurse who demanded to know who he was.

"Her guardian!" he'd hear Jiraiya shout a few seconds later giving into the nurse.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and leaned against the door crossing his arms over his still bare chest ignoring the looks the nurses were giving him. He had gotten used to the lust filled eyes of the girls and women around him and had stopped glaring at them because it did little good. He turned as the rest of the gang came storming into the hospital, the chaos ratcheting up several notches. He smirked to see that Ino was clinging to Shikamaru's arm and his eyes rolled at Sasuke's smirk. Chouji was munching on a bag of chips while Gaara followed silently behind glaring at anyone who looked at him funny. Kiba and Sakura spotted him at the same time and converged on his position dragging the others with him.

"How is she?" Sakura demanded immediately. Everyone grew silent as they waited for him to speak. Kiba handed him his jacket and Sasuke shrugged into it before answering.

"She's fine, thought their going to give her a pint of blood once she's been stitched back up," Sasuke said. His tone belied how he was feeling, it told them that he was calm as if this was just an ordinary occurrence while inside he felt his heart hammering at how close Naruto had come to dying again! He felt sick to his stomach and if his hands weren't fastened tightly around his upper arms, he was sure that they would be shaking.

Gaara's eyes met his as the rest of the group seemed to relax. He could read the hidden emotions in Sasuke's eyes and knew how worried the raven was for the girl. The nurse came to usher them into the waiting room and out of the doctor's and nurse's way. The group took up most of the chairs and talked quietly among themselves. Sasuke unable to sit quietly though moved away from the group and down the hall to the vending machines. Gaara followed silently.

"That bitch flayed her arm open," Sasuke said quietly as he studied the drink selection before pulling out a dollar and feeding the machine choosing water instead of the soda. "Used a jack knife and nearly slice open her throat from what Naruto said about the fight. She said that Karin had aimed for her throat but she ducked."

"Naruto's quick, Sasuke, she knew what to do," Gaara reassured quietly.

"All it takes is once, Gaara, one slice, and she would have been lying there dead or dying," Sasuke snarled. His hand shot out and grabbed the other boy's collar pulling him close. "If Karin had been a little faster, luckier…Naruto--"

"Don't," Gaara said harshly hitting the hand away and stepping back, "don't think it. It didn't happen and Naruto will be fine."

Sasuke breathed heavily trying to block the image from his head. Gaara's hand landed on his shoulder in a brotherly connection.

"She's a fighter, a survivor, and she will be just fine. Konkuro told me that no one has stood up to Kabuto and for Naruto to do so is just what everyone needs to see. The guy had had serious control of the school for a long time, everyone handing him everything his wants. He remembered seeing Naruto when she came into the school; she was like a ray of sunshine, he said, happy, bouncy and drew everyone to her."

"She still is a ray of sunshine but this shouldn't be her fight."

Gaara smirked at that. "I wouldn't have thought you would admit it. And no, it shouldn't be her fight but since it is, we just need to keep her safe for a little while longer."

"We can't keep an eye on her every second of everyday."

"Maybe not, but we just have to do the best we can."

Sasuke nodded as Shikamaru came up to them. "Naruto's not going to let you protect her," the genius stated. "After today she is going to go after Kabuto with everything she has."

"Hello, boys," Kakashi said coming up to them with a hand held up in a still wave and a smile on his eyes. "What's this about Naruto going after Kabuto?"

The boys looked at the grey haired man suspiciously as he folded his arms across his chest and looked back just as suspiciously. He raised an eyebrow watching them silently.

"Oh, man," Shikamaru said rolling his eyes.

They were interrupted by Jiraiya following the doctor out of the room; he motioned to Kakashi who nodded. Jiraiya's eyes were filled with worry making them a darker shade of brown.

"We'll discuss this later," he warned as he moved off to talk with Jiraiya and the doctor.

Sasuke slipped back into the emergency area and to Naruto room to look in on her only to find the room empty. He chuckled at the empty exam table then back to the waiting room. He waited until the doctor, Jiraiya, and Kakashi went back before leaning over to Gaara.

"I'm going to go find Naruto."

"She's gone, again?"

"Yeah."

He knew where she was so he hurried in that direction to make sure that she didn't fall over from the blood loss she had suffered. He heard a commotion and followed that knowing that Naruto was behind it somehow when he caught up he wasn't expecting what he found although with Naruto anything was possible.

Naruto, Konohamaru, and a couple of other children were on the Nurses desk, fake mics poised to their mouths and belting out Seether's 'Fake It'. He crossed his arms and watched as the robed figure danced and jumped around on the desk while Naruto did a pretty good rendition of the lead singer.

Her shirt had been ripped at the shoulder and the sleeve was missing showing the bandage that was wrapped all the way down her arm from elbow to wrist held to her front and side by the sling. She held a brush up to her lush lips, a huge grin plastered to her face while she sang the chorus with Konohamaru, her uninjured arm around his shoulders doing a high kick. The nurses and doctors from the ward watched in amusement clapping and encouraging the impromptu concert.

The rest of the troop emerged having heard that the ruckus and knowing that Naruto had escaped and put two and two together.

"Looks like she's going to be fine so we'll skip the transfusion just make sure that she gets plenty of rest for the next couple of days and eats well," the emergency doctor said. He was the same one as last time and knew it was pointless to argue with the girl about staying the night. Jiraiya nodded then clapped as Naruto took a bow. With the concert over she skipped up to them pulling the boy with her and letting the others get back to their rooms for rest.

"Hi, guys!" she greeted as if nothing had happened and she wasn't sporting more bruises and bandages. "This is my new little brother, Konohamaru!" she introduced.

Sasuke knew that they had given her pain medication but now noticed that it had been a heavy dose. Her eyes were a brighter blue from the drug and she was acting high, like nothing hurt.

The group greeted the boy and he grinned from ear to ear at Naruto his arm sliding around her waist as he snuggled his head closer to her chest. Naruto didn't noticed the gesture but Sasuke did and sent a frown to the boy who raised an eye brow at him knowing that he couldn't do anything, along with a little smirk.

"Let's get Naruto home," Jiraiya said sensibly.

"I'll meet you at the house," Kakashi said then looked at Naruto. "Great show, next time you can do an encore." He grinned then walked away.

"Can we go to that new Chinese place and have ramen?!" Naruto asked excitedly as they made their way to the entrance, her arm still around the kid.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but his lips curved up imperceptibly. Even injured she was still the same.

At the door Naruto promised the boy that she would come visit him on Sunday. "I'll bring some more Jelly Bellies," she said then she kissed Konohamaru's forehead and hugged him before following Ino and Sakura out of the building.

Konohamaru looked up at Sasuke with a satisfied look and a smirk.

"Oh, please, you have a better chance with the little girl in the room next door than you do with Naruto," Sasuke muttered at the boy. He could hear Kiba snickering behind him.

"Yeah, kid, give it up, Naruto is way too old for you," he said as he draped an arm around Sasuke's shoulders. "Ow! What was that for?" he asked looking at Sasuke with one eye while rubbing his forehead.

"Be nice," Sasuke said as he waved at Konohamaru who was laughing, then followed Gaara out of the building with Kiba running to keep up.

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**A/N **to: **mimichan, chaos, firie, trsofnaruto, narachan, soul-searcher**, and **Itooshii (Sam):** Thanks a million for the reviews I hope that everything lived up to you expectations! Like the impromtru show? or Karin's broken wrist? Naruto is always getting hurt it just a part of being her. Well, this is coming to an end soon...maybe... I have a few more tricks up my sleeve before we can have Naruto and Kabuto meet again so stay tuned for the next part. Mpreg, or Not to Mpreg that is the question!!!

LOVES and HUGS

ZEN (the almighty and powerful OZ?)


	17. Chapter 17

Naruto sat in front of her computer typing, updating one of her fan fics at three in the morning unable to sleep. She'd spent most of the night studying until her brain had turned into mush, now she was trying to bang out a story that she'd been neglecting for three months. They were having finals this week and she'd been working hard to receive good grades on them. School would be out next week and then the rest of the summer was free.

She wished that school got out at the normal time like all the others but it didn't. It was the middle of July for heck's sake. She really didn't mind the schooling because it was more intense and she would be graduating with a college Associates degree but there were days when she would look out the class room window and wish that she could be sitting by a pool or a lake like a normal teen soaking up the sun.

She shook her head and pulled her attention back to the bright screen, sighing she shut the laptop down and got up. She'd wanted to update but she wasn't going to be able to right now, her concentration was shot. She got ready for bed and was snuggling down under the covers when a soft knock sounded at the door before it swung inward. Her eyes widened as Sasuke stepped inside and closed the portal firmly behind him.

He approached the bed with a determined look. She was unable to say anything because her mind had gone blank at the bare chest that seemed to glow in the darkness. She mouth had gone dry which she dimly thought was a good thing because otherwise she would be drooling all over herself. He looked down at her for a good ten seconds before pulling the covers back and slipping into the bed with her.

"What are you doing?" she hissed at him as he settled down on her pillow.

"I'm getting a good night sleep, so that I can at least somewhat concentrate during the exams tomorrow. Now roll over so that I can get comfortable."

"What if Jiraiya find you in here?" I asked but complied with his wishes and rolled over so that my back was to him.

"Then he does. Its not like he's going to do anything really other than lecture us," Sasuke said as he pulled her back against his warm chest and his arms rested on her waist.

"I don't want to hurt him by breaking his rules," Naruto said feeling her exhaustion taking over.

"Don't worry so much, I locked the door."

Sleep over took Naruto as she relaxed into Sasuke's embrace.

Sasuke shifted so that he could see her face as it was relaxed in sleep. He had lied to her about getting a rested sleep it was mainly for her that he was here. He had seen the dark shadows that had developed under her eyes this past week since Karin's attack and the paranoia that she carried with her while at school. The distractions were going to make her grades suffer so he had made the decision to come help her relax. Just knowing that someone cared for you, even if it was unacknowledged, went a long ways to calming nerves. He'd heard some adults saying that they enjoyed just being held more than the physical side of a relationship. He'd even read in books that the one thing a person missed the most when their spouse died was just being held at night. So it was a kind of experiment his being here.

He settled back down on the pillow and just held Naruto as she slept. He splayed his hand on her flat belly and wondered if his child was growing there. It was a weird thought but not unpleasant. Seeing Naruto growing round with his baby actually made him smile.

He knew that just convincing Naruto to marry him without having a baby on the way would be hard enough but maybe with one she would see the importance of having two parents for it and agree. Most girls would be more than willing to marry him and have his babies, he'd even had more than his fair share of proposals to do just that, but the blond in his arms right now wasn't like most girls. She was stubborn, bull-headed, and determined, not to mention loyal to a fault and she didn't want to hurt her new family. He didn't understand it fully himself the schematics behind the double standards that people judged men and women with. Getting some girl pregnant earned high praise from others of his gender but a girl being knocked up was considered easy and a slut. He frowned at the thought, if anyone dared call Naruto a slut in front of him, or even if he heard that someone had he would destroy them.

He fell asleep holding her warm body wrapped tightly in his arms.

"Naruto!" Sakura's excited shout pulled her attention to the pink haired girl as she ran up to Naruto. "Guess what?!"

"Um, you found a new color of strawberry hair dye?" Naruto teased as she ate an apple that Chouji had thrown her.

"Haha, very funny," the girl glared with hands on hips. She towered over Naruto who was currently leaning against the low brick wall of the terraced lawn. "No, Ino is having a party to celebrate the end of school. It's at her house because her parents are going to be out of town! And EVERYONE is invited!" She looked up at the boys with a raised eyebrow.

"Sounds like fun," Kiba said with a grin. "Count me in." Everyone nodded except Gaara.

"Hey, I'll call Hinata and see if she wants to come," Naruto said with a small glance at the red head whose interest was peaked at the girl's name, not that any one could tell but Naruto had a feeling since his eyes had met hers at the name before quickly looking away.

"That would be awesome," Sakura exclaimed before running away to find her blonde best friend.

"We'd better let Jiraiya know that well be home late," Sasuke said pulling out his cell. Naruto rested her head on his knee and looked up at him in question. "Nine o'clock curfew. We may have to crash at Ino's."

"Oh, right, forgot about that."

Jiraiya didn't have a problem and promised to leave the door unlocked just incase they made it home.

Naruto crunched on the apple and looked down at the white and green book that was sitting next to her. The year book. She felt a little pang knowing that everything would be changing now. Everyone was going to go their separate ways after the graduation ceremony tomorrow night. She'd even passed with decent grades which had thrilled Tsunade to no end and caused the woman to suggest that Naruto go into the medical field. Naruto had wrinkled her nose at that, blood and gore wasn't her cup of tea. She'd been playing with the idea of interior design but hadn't settled on anything in particular.

She picked the book up and opened it to the back seeing the little notes that her friends had placed on various pages. She didn't care about getting anyone else's as long as their signatures were there to remember in the future. She noticed after flipping a couple of pages that Sasuke hadn't put his down. Frowning she looked up at him.

"Hey, you didn't put you name in my book!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her then stood and pulled her to her feet. Surprised, she didn't resist as he dragged her around the corner out of sight and hearing of her friends. He only stopped when there wasn't any one else around, and pushed her up against the window and settled his lips on hers.

He kissed her deeply and only when she was dazed and nearly incapacitated did he let her go but kept his hand placed on either side of her head.

"We never did get our talk in," he said a little breathlessly. "I don't want to have it here though.'

"What does that have to do with you signing my year book?"

"Because I'm not going to sign it."

Hurt filled her as she looked away from him so that he didn't see it in her eyes. Confused she didn't know what to think. He didn't want to sign her year book, but he could kiss her senselessly? What the hell? Was he telling her that she was just a diversion? What about what he'd said about wanting to be with her? Did she read too much into it?

She swallowed down the tears that threatened and tried to push away from him.

"Naruto." His voice was firm and pulled her attention back to him. He sighed seeing the hurt and confusion in her eyes. "I'm not going to sign it because I'm not going to go anywhere."

She blinked confusion deepening. "Wh—What do you mean?"

"The other night…I didn't use protection."

"Yeah, so?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath the plunged in head first. "You might be pregnant. And Uchiha's are honorable and so you're going to marry me."

Naruto stared at him for several seconds. A short period of time that to her felt like an eternity. Then anger replaced any shock that she had been feeling, and dissolving the confusion.

"Oh, fuck, no!" she shouted. Sasuke's hand clapped over her mouth before she blew an eardrum. He glared at her as she glared back.

"It is what my family expects, so we will be getting married. I know that Jiraiya will give her permission so that we could have the ceremony soon."

Naruto pushed him away. "First of all, I'm probably not pregnant and secondly, even if I was, I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man on Earth!" She stomped back to where Shika, Chouji, Gaara, and Kiba were still sitting waiting for the rest of school to let out. They looked up in surprise as Naruto glared angrily at them and ignored Sasuke when he came back, she went so far as to move to the other side of Shika when he sat back down on the wall next to her. Shika looked at Sasuke seeing his annoyance when she moved; he just shook his head and looked at the sky thinking that things were going to get troublesome.

Naruto couldn't believe that Sasuke had basically ordered her to marry him! She ground her teeth together and continued to ignore him for the rest of the day but her brain kept snagging on one detail he had suggested. Could she be pregnant? The thought kept popping into her head as she waited for the final bell to ring signaling that she could finally go home.

The thought of having a baby scared her and yet filled her with a sense of excitement all at the same time, a small precious person that she could love, a part of Sasuke that would be with her forever. She guessed that it was possible. She began counting and her eyes widened; she was over a week late!

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**A/N Finally I'm updating. I'm not really sure about this chapter...and its so short, kind of just a filler, I hope that the next one goes better. Things should be reaching a climax soon! YAY! I've been distracted this past week. I should know better than to try and write of the weekends though when there are so many other things going on. I'm going to try and finish this story in the next week or so so keep looking for the updates I'm thinking that there are only two or three more chapters left. Thanks go to all the people who favorited and a special shout out to Sam and trsofnaruto, my favoritest FANS!!! Thanks guys!**

**Hugs**

**ZEN**

**P.S. please excuse and grammar erros, I hate to proof read but if there is anything major please let me know and I will fix it.**


	18. Chapter 18

Naruto was standing in a corner of the crowded room watching with increasing rage as Sasuke talked with Karin. How had that bitch ended up here at Ino's party Naruto still didn't know? The girl was now flipping her hair back as she giggled at something Sasuke had said. Naruto wanted to stalk over to her and break her nose; it would giver her great satisfaction to see her covered in blood. Her arm was still in a cast which Naruto smirked over.

She turned away as Gaara strode up to her, Hinata being pulled by the hand and blushing like mad. Naruto grinned at the girl before looking in askance at Gaara.

"I'm going to walk Hinata home," he stated still looking as unmoved as ever except for the small gleam in his eyes that told Naruto that he had something serious planned. "I'll be back later to pick you up. Don't go anywhere without Kiba or Chouji. Shika has disappeared with Ino so he won't be of any use for the rest of the night." Naruto laughed at that statement which was completely true.

"Alright, but please be careful. Hinata looks like she's on the verge of fainting from too much excitement," Naruto teased seeing the blush darken and Gaara glared at her. She waved the two away then made her way to where Sakura was busy refilling the punch bowl.

"Hey, Sakura, do you need any help with anything?" she asked to avoid looking for Sasuke again. She needed to occupy herself of she was going to commit murder. She even filled one hand with a cup of punch.

"Sure, there's a platter of cold cut in the kitchen could you bring it in here please, and also that bag of buns for the sandwiches. Have you seen Ino?" Sakura looked a little flustered and glad of the help.

"No, but I heard that she and Shika had disappeared together." Naruto snickered again at the pairing. Shikamaru was more than a little lazy and Ino was Ino. She was confident, outspoken and sometimes superficial.

"What?! This is her party and here I am doing all the work!" Sakura strode off determined to find her friend leaving Naruto to shrug and walk into the kitchen to grab the party tray and buns that Sakura had asked her to get. Seeing the huge tray and sack of bread, she tried to juggle the three items in her hand but ended up giving up the drink and set it on the counter.

She made room for it on the table and looked up to see a blushing Sakura coming back down the stairs.

"Did you find them?" Naruto asked her distracted friend.

"Uh, yeah," Sakura's blush darkening to a near tomato color as she swallowed. "I don't think I've seen so many legs and arms on one person before," came her dazed reply.

Naruto cracked up, holding her sides, and nearly dropping to roll along the floor in her amusement. Chouji came up to grab some of the food. His hair a wild light brown and hanging in spiky waves to his shoulders.

"What so funny?" he asked as he filled a plate with meat, cheese, and bread.

"Sakura, caught Ino and Shika in flagrante delicto," Naruto gasped breaking into another bout of hilarity as Sakura glared at her.

"Oh? Is that all?" Chouji commented blandly.

Naruto's laughter died as she looked at her large friend. "What do you mean, 'Is that all'?"

Chouji shrugged. "I've known for a while that Shika liked her, knew that it was only a matter of time before he made his move." Naruto gaped him before shaking her head.

"More than likely it was Ino that made the move otherwise Shike wouldn't even lift a finger."

"Maybe, but Shika isn't the type to let anyone make the first move."

"True," Naruto said speculatively then went back into the kitchen for her glass of punch. She gulped most of it down in one swallow before grimacing at the salty after taste that it left in her mouth. She dumped the rest down the drain and rinsed the cup out then refilled it with water and swished it around in her mouth to get the rest of the taste out.

"Sakura, did you mix up the sugar and the salt?" Naruto asked when she sent back out.

"Of course not!" Sakura exclaimed, then tasted the punch just to be sure. "Nope, I didn't."

"Really? Then someone must have thought it would be hilarious to put salt in my cup," Naruto growled then looked around to see who the culprit might be. Sasuke was now sitting on the small sofa surrounded by another gaggle of giggling girls who were flirting outrageously with him but she was glad to see that Karin wasn't in sight. If she had been then Naruto would have thought that it was her that had done the deed just out of spite.

Naruto moved around the house and out to the back yard where a small dance floor had been set up. Kiba was in the middle dancing with a couple of girls and Naruto made her way over to them. She grinned at his smile of greeting and felt her body warm up from the body heat of so many kids pressed together and working up a sweat. She danced with Kiba then several other guys beginning to enjoy the party, even flirting with a few. A fussy, cuddly feeling lifted her spirits and she went back to Kiba hugging him. The pounding rhythm of the base made her heart hammer in time with it and her vision blurred over.

She left Kiba and went to the edge of the floor to cool down but felt a couple of hands catch her as she stumbled and a low murmuring. She grinned up at the blurry face and didn't mind at all when the person led her away from the dance to sit in a quiet place closing the door. She leaned her head against the cool smooth surface and closed her eyes as the low rumbling began. She grinned at the thought of a big cat purring but didn't think about anything after that.

Naruto blinked her eyes open to a still blurry world as someone pulled her from the car.

"Are we home already?" she mumbled.

"Not exactly," a familiar voice said. Naruto lifted her head to see a pair of familiar round glasses and grey haired ponytail.

Frowning as fiercely as she could at Kabuto she growled, "What the hell are you doing here?" She stumbled as she tried to push away from him only to be jerked harshly back against a hard chest.

"I'm going to finally get some satisfaction from your little body," he smirked, "the same thing that you've been giving to that houseful of boys you're living with now. I'd hoped to get your virginity but I've since decided that its better this way." He pulled her through a doorway and into a dark building.

Naruto's chest was beginning to hurt and she tried to breath, her heart seemed to pound erratically but she guessed it was to be expected since she was once again in Kabuto's hands. Naruto struggled to free herself but she was extremely weak and uncoordinated in her movements like her arms and legs weren't her own. Her head fell forwards then was whipped back as Kabuto dumped her onto a squishy part of the floor. Naruto dimly recognized it as a mattress.

Kabuto's teeth flashed in the darkness as he smiled a creepy little smile looking down at his prey. Naruto swallowed and tried to get to her feet only to have him kick her in the ribs. She gasped at the searing pain collapsing back onto the filthy bed, she clutched at her side then subsided, dimly praying that he hadn't just killed the baby.

She looked up at him in defeat. "What did you do to me?"

An ugly laugh filled the empty space and his glasses flashed with a little light as he flung his head back. "A little gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, also known as G-H-B."

Naruto blinked as she saw a shadow move to her left and a pair of red eyes blinked at her from a corner of the room. Monsters filled her head and she whimpered trying to retreat from the thick, inky darkness.

Kabuto grabbed her ankle and pulled her back toward him. A glimmer of silver appeared in his hand as he pulled a knife out. He began to cut away her clothing and she struggled, hitting him weakly and hearing his laughter.

"The drug makes it impossible for you to resist, so go ahead and hit me, your pathetic punches are only making this better. If you relax, you may even enjoy this!" He cackled as the knife tore through her shirt with a little ripping sound. She gathered what little strength she had left and shoved his to the side just as his knife dipped in to the waist band of her pants.

His hand slipped and she gasped at the white hot pain that stabbed her side. She heard him swear.

"Damnit, now I'm going to have to finish this quickly before you pass out from blood loss."

The knife came back and after a few tugs her pants were discarded as were her panties. She felt hot liquid slip down her cheeks but didn't register the fact that she was crying and the little whimpers that she shed held words begging him to let her go and not do this.

One last ditch effort and she lifted her head with a snarl and sank her teeth into as much skin as she could. Biting deeply she pulled away with a chunk of flesh still in her mouth. She dimly heard his shout as a fist connected to her jaw and stars exploded just before his weight was gone from her.

His angry face was replaced with one of a concerned grey haired social worker and a scratchy blanket covered her. She grimaced at the prickly feel but hugged it to her as she looked up with swimming vision at Kakashi.

"Sasuke, come sit with Naruto!" the man barked as he finished examining her then moved to the man who was being held up by Gaara and Kiba. Sasuke had nearly taken his head off but had been restrained by Kakashi before the boy could kill him. As it was the guys glasses had been smashed and he was barely conscious hanging limply by two people who would just as soon see him dead.

Kakashi flipped open his phone and called the police, then Jiraiya to let him know that they had found Naruto. Akamaru was lying next to the girl, his head resting on her wool covered leg, his eyes following the movements of everyone with lazy grace but not leaving her.

Ten minutes later Naruto was being loaded up once more into an ambulance, an oxygen mask covering the lower half of her face, and a EMT pushing a needle into her arm. The adrenaline would keep her heart going long enough for the rest of the drug to work through her system. The most concerning injury was the stab wound that had pierced her liver but the medics had been able to slow the bleeding.

Sasuke moved to get into the vehicle with her but one of the medics held up his hand. "I'm sorry, son, but we need the room to work on her." Sasuke's jaw clenched and he stepped back. Allowing the men to close the door, watching with haunted black eyes as the ambulance pulled away.

Kakashi laid his hand on the boys shoulder. Gaara and Kiba coming to stand next to them.

"I've really messed up this time," Sasuke mumbled blinking back tears that threatened his Uchiha pride.

"She will be fine," Kakashi reassured, "I've never seen that girl quit fighting even when the odds were stacked against her."

"I know that she will be fine, she's too stubborn to die," Sasuke tried for a smirk and failed. "I'm afraid that I've lost her."

Gaara shook his head and sighed, "You've just pissed her off. Next time, you are going to have to _ASK_ her not demand and you need to tell her how you feel. Stop being such a bastard, and give up that stupid pride of yours. She loves you, though I don't know why. She'll forgive you but you are going to have to work for it." Kiba nodded in agreement though he looked a little lost about what they were talking about. Akamaru whined and nudged his hand until Kiba began to pet his head.

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**A/N HA...Another Update, just finished this and I will probably be finishing this up in the next chapter either today to tomorrow! Do you know what that means??!! It means that it will be finished...heehee had you going there for a minute. *wince* sorry. Please diregard any grammar errors and what not, but if there is a major booboo please let me know and I will fix it. Also Please Leave a Review. I just love hearing from you people. Trsofnaruto--love ya, and thanks. mimichan--you're one of my favs too! (only two reveiws since i posted the last chapter earlier today) And you can always PM me if you have any other comments. ITs also another short chapter...maybe even shorter than the last one but I guess thats the way it goes sometimes.  
**

**I always forget the disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I do have several really...really...NICE pictures of him that I downloaded but I don't own them either. and I suck at art.**

**Thanks much **

**ZEN  
**


	19. Chapter 19

"So since I'm in remission, I get to go home next week!" Konohamaru was saying as he munched on a hand full of Jelly Bellies.

"That's great!" Naruto exclaimed absently scratching her side where the stitches were itching her as she laid on the hospital bed. "You get to escape the deadly hospital!"

The boy grinned at her then frowned as he saw her wince. "You know, Naruto, I would think that as much as you hate the hospital you would avoid getting beat up nearly every week."

"Yeah, just keep up with those smart remarks and I'll show you beat up," Naruto groused. She tried shifting into a higher position on the bed but quit when the burning in her side threatened to break into a full on fire. She sighed looking up at the bag that hung with the IV. It was the last bag of blood that she would need to replace that which she'd lost. She was right now alone in the room with Konohamaru who had heard that she was back in the hospital for an extended stay.

Jiraiya and Tsunade were outside talking to the doctors about her condition and how long she would be in the hospital, which Naruto would bet wouldn't be as long as the doctor said. The door opened and Sasuke stepped into the room and the smirk that was beginning to appear on her lips died a quick death as the raven approached.

Konohamaru looked from Naruto to Sasuke and back again before getting to his feet. He'd weeded out all the light pink jelly beans and left them on the try but gathered the others up. "I think I'll go visit Moegi," he stating proving just how smart he could be.

Sasuke looked at the paleness that Naruto still had despite the blood that had been replaced. He looked at the nearly empty bag on the stand and felt the panic and helplessness that he had that night when he'd pulled the scumbag off of her. She'd just lain there bleeding, not moving, and he'd thought that they'd been too late. He again wanted Kabuto standing in front of him or better yet under him as he pounded his face with his fists.

Sasuke looked at the hurt that lingered in her eyes and knew that it wasn't because of her injuries, but because of him. He moved closer to the bed and picked up her hand. She let him but didn't return the small squeeze that he gave it. Sasuke sat down in the seat the Konohamaru had recently just vacated.

"I made a mistake, Naruto," he began.

"This is hardly your fault," Naruto said glaring at him.

"Isn't it. If I hadn't made you angry we would have spent the night together and Kabuto wouldn't have found an opportunity to drug you and you wouldn't be here now." Sasuke said.

"I should have known that something was wrong when my punch tasted salty."

"Not many people know that GHB has a sodium base, and you didn't think that he would stoop so low since before he's faced you fairly with all your senses intact."

"Yeah, but still I should have said something or done things differently."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. "Naruto, shut up." He roughly shoved a hand through his thick locks then rubbed his eyes as he tried to think. "Regardless of what happened at the party, I made a mistake earlier before the party. I'm so used to getting my way that I don't think about other people's feelings and so I steamrollered my way over you."

Naruto clamped her jaw shut as she remembered his demand that she marry him because she could be pregnant.

"You don't have to worry, I asked the doctor to run the test and he said it was negative. So you don't have to marry me."

Sasuke looked up and she could swear she saw disappointment in his eyes. She folded her arms and watched him with little emotion on her face. He nodded then glanced away feigning interest in the generic landscape that hung on the wall of the room.

"I see, but Naruto, I…"

"Please, Sasuke, I would like to rest now, I'm really tired."

He nodded as he stood and then looked back at Naruto. "I'm really fond of you, and it pains me to see you in this condition so please don't get hurt again." He left.

Naruto sighed. When had she become so good at lying? A week ago he would have seen right through her and called her on them. Maybe he wanted to believe the lies and so he did, it would make his life easier. She was going to have to hope that she could hide her body's growth until she turned eighteen and could legally move out. She was also going to have to learn to hide her feelings for him because she wasn't going to marry someone who was just fond of her. She couldn't believe that she had made such a colossal mistake as to fall for someone who was just _fond_ of her. She blinked back the tears refusing to let them fall and she refused to feel sorry for herself. She was just going to have to live with the consequences of her mistakes.

Naruto waited for Jiraiya to come back to the room after he finished with the check out. It had been three days since the attack and the doctor had agreed to let Naruto go home, not that she had been fighting her stay in the hospital but Jiraiya was afraid that she was going to make a break for it soon and he didn't want to have to search for her again.

"Hey," a warm familiar voice called out.

Naruto turned to face Kakashi as he stood in the doorway. He grinned at her from behind his mask then stepped forward closing the door behind him to give them some privacy.

"Heard you were leaving today so I came by to see if you needed anything and to let you know that Kabuto has been convicted of assault and battery so he won't be out of prison for some time, at least five years." Kakashi commented stopping before her.

"Thanks for you help," Naruto said her head dropping so that he couldn't see her eyes.

"So how long do you plan on keeping it a secret?"

Naruto quickly met his eyes and blinked. "Keeping what a secret?"

"The baby?"

"How…?"

He smirked. "I've been working with kids for a long time now and many of the girls that have crossed my desk have been pregnant. I've learned to look for the signs."

"What signs?"

"Hmm…doesn't matter. What does is do you plan on telling the father or are you just going to up and disappear? I think that you have a lot of people who care about you and would help you in any way. It would hurt them greatly if you don't allow them to help you with the greatest challenge of you life." He nodded towards the door.

Naruto's shoulders fell. "I can't. I don't know how." She felt the tears that she had been suppressing for the last couple of days slip down her cheeks.

"It's going to be tough and they are probably going to be upset but they love you and will understand."

"I still can't, not while…" she broke off and turned away her hands fisted at her side thinking about those words.

"Not while…Sasuke is there?" The man was just too intuitive for Naruto's comfort. "He was devastated when we found you. He tried to kill Kabuto, you know."

"He said he was fond of me and didn't like to see me hurt." Naruto muttered those hateful words.

"Ah…I see." He rolled his eyes thinking about how stupid that boy could really be when it came to people, even though all his teachers said that he was a genius in the classroom. "He comes from a very well bred family and his father didn't like the show of emotion, it made the man truly uncomfortable. I had truly wished that Sasuke's mother had more of an influence on that boy that his father. That man had a stick shoved so far up his back side that it would have taken surgery and a crowbar to remove it. Sasuke has a really hard time showing his emotions and to get him to talk about them is nearly impossible. Him telling you that he is fond of you is the equivalent of him shouting to the world that he loves you."

"That's all well and good but I don't want him to marry me just because I am pregnant. I think that a marriage needs more than just that otherwise its doomed from the beginning and as for having a stick shoved in a highly uncomfortable spot, I think Sasuke could give his dad a run for the money. I don't want that for my baby, I want, need someone who can…" Naruto stopped when she realized that Kakashi wasn't in the room anymore but someone else was. She began to shake seeing the anger, no it resembled rage more, on his face.

"You need someone who can…what? Lie better than you can?" Sasuke asked as he leaned back against the wall, crossing his legs and arms. "Who can deceive those that she loves? Ignore the pain more?" He straightened and approached her. His hands shooting out and grasping her upper arms, gently despite how much he wanted to shake her. "Well, I guess that I fit that bill since I can compete with my dad."

"You weren't supposed to hear that!" Naruto exclaimed as she tried to step back but ended up stepping forward as he drew her closer.

"You were going to let me believe that I wasn't a father. You would have just left without a word to me about it, or even without a choice in the matter!" He gave in and shook her lightly. "Is this enough emotion for you?!" he growled pulling her into his arms and settling his lips over hers, ravishing her mouth with his. He forced his way into her mouth and licked at her tongue rubbing it and sucking at it until he felt her hands clutching at his shoulders and sinking into his hair to hold him close.

He shoved her away and let her go pacing across the room. "God damn it, Naruto. I've never been so mixed up in my life." He turned and faced her. "I haven't been able to sleep because you're not by my side. I can barely eat because you aren't sitting on the couch or at the table where I can see you. I haven't been able to think of anything except for you for the past three days."

Naruto stood silent in shock at his confession. Her heart hammered in her chest jumping up and down in near excitement. She swallowed.

"I've been scared to death that you won't give me a second chance and I want to kill Kiba because of his stupid comments about groveling on my hands and knees in order to get you to forgive me for being a total bastard. Gaara hasn't been much better since he seems to think that Kiba has the right of it, but damned if I won't grovel if that is what it's going to take for you to forgive me and believe that I love you." He ground out in his agitation. "Then Jiraiya and Tsunade are always whispering together while sneaking peeks at me and Rees and Tatsuo are endlessly asking when you're coming home. The whole house seems to be revolving around you and its driven me to the peak of insanity."

Naruto had frozen in place staring at him. "Wh—what did you say?"

"Which part because I don't think I could repeat that word for word," Sasuke said looking at her in confusion.

Naruto shook her head and smiled warmly at him. "You know I should make you try and repeat that so that you can hear yourself babbling but that would just be cruel and unusual punishment, not that you don't deserve it. But I'm not because I love you too. And if you tell me that you're fond of me ever again, I'm going to shove a real stick up you ass just so that I can have the pleasure of removing it myself!"

Sasuke blinked before a slow smile lift the corners of his lips. "Is that what upset you? Naruto, I thought that I told you how I felt that night we made love."

"You have never once told me that you loved me!"

He came over to stand in front of her then slowly picked up her hand, raising it until it was eye level and laced his fingers through hers. "Hmm, I could have sworn that I did," he murmured as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips then dropped down to the ground on one knee still holding her hand.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I love you and want to stand by your side holding you hand for the rest of my life. Will you, please, do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Naruto dropped onto her knees in front of him throwing her arms around his neck, tears of happiness flowing unchecked down her cheeks. "Yes!" She pressed her lips to his and returning the ravishing kiss that he had given her earlier.

Jiraiya quietly closed the door and turned to a puzzled Tsunade. Boy, was he going to have a lot to explain, but later, when he got the couple home and in a place where there was very little witnesses.

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**A/N: I can hear you cheering! Guess what! Last Chapter and this is COMPLETE!!! **

**Sorry, mimichan--I had to make the teme overly sentimental, just once, but I hope that you liked it. **

**So did you enjoy it?! Was there anything that needs to be changed? Well too bad because it is what it is. But you can leave a review or PM me a message. Please excuse the grammar I think most of you know by now that I hate to proofread but if there is anything major let me know and I will try and go back and fix it! **

**I will try and respond to your messages and reviews and I always read them! and Even though it is complete you can still leave me a comment!**

**Thanks for reading this, I so happy that its complete. I now get to go work on something else.**

**I've got two other stories that i'm working on (that are posted) and one more that I've begun and have a couple of chapters written but I won't post it until I get some more written on the others stories. I know how irritating it is when a story is just left hanging so I'm going to try and finish them, thanks lot for you patience I really appreciate it.**

**ZEN  
**


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